Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Loses 60% Bitcoin After Switching To ETF

Grayscale, one of the world's second-largest crypto asset managers, has seen a significant decline in their Bitcoin holdings since the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) converted to ETF earlier this year. Based on data from Coinclass, the number of Bitcoins managed by GBTC has fallen more than 60% since its debut as ETF.

Reporting from Cryptobriefing, last January, when GBTC officially switched to ETF, the fund still manages nearly 620,000 Bitcoin (BTC). However, as of April 28, this number fell sharply to around 227,400 BTC, which is currently worth around 13.3 billion US Dollars (around Rp204 trillion).

This decline was largely due to capital outflows that continued after the ETF conversion, fueled by high management costs and competitive pressure from other funds such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity Bitcoin Trust (FBTC).

Currently, GBTC, which used to be the largest Bitcoin ETF, has been followed by BlackRock's IShares Bitcoin Trust. Within just five months of its launch, BlackRock has won the top spot in the Bitcoin ETF market.

According to data from Farside Investors, this week alone, investors have injected more than 220 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 3.3 trillion) into the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), making it the dominant leader in the Bitcoin ETF market with ownership of around 358,000 BTC worth around 22 billion US Dollars (approximately IDR 338 trillion).

Even so, there are signs that the decline in GBTC is starting to slow down. Recent data show that outflows from GBTC have started to decrease since earlier this month. In Wednesday's trading session, GBTC recorded a net outflow of 8 million US Dollars (around Rp123 billion), which is the lowest withdrawal since mid-July.

Meanwhile, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, a low-cost version of GBTC, also experienced its first outflow on August 28, with a withdrawal of 8 million US Dollars (around Rp123 billion). However, Bitcoin Mini Trust still managed to attract nearly 350 million US Dollars (approximately Rp5.3 trillion) in clean capital since its launch at the end of July, reducing the distance with rival funds managed by Invesco and Franklin Templeton.