Flow into U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) blew past 90 percent more on Dec. 3 than the day prior, prompting comparisons to the amounts of Bitcoin allocated to the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Data from analytics firm SoSoValue shows that on Tuesday, several U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a combined inflow of $675.97 million, a huge spike from the $353.67 million total on Monday. Over the last four days, the funds have seen $1.45 billion in net inflows, a particularly robust stretch for Bitcoin ETF investment this year.
BlackRock’s IBIT Dominates As ETF Inflows Surge, Surpassing 500,000 BTC Milestone
The fund’s third straight day as the topper in inflows, IBIT attracted $693.25 million from BlackRock’s IBIT. BlackRock just crossed an inflow milestone, with Bitcoin ETF holdings surpassing 500,000 BTC and making up 2.38% of the total supply. With $49.4 billion in assets under management (AUM), IBIT is among 2024’s biggest ETF launches.
After BlackRock, adding $52.17 million, came Fidelity’s FBTC and VanEck’s HODL, which bagged $16.21 million. Moderate also went BITB’s way with $7.8 million.
Some of the funds in the inflow surge were kept a secret. 21Shares’ ARKB and ARK had $93.47 million reported outflows during the day, the lone fund to see a net decrease in holdings.
However, trading volumes on Bitcoin ETFs fell to $2.93 billion on Dec. 6, down from $3.91 billion on Dec. 2, as inflows failed to spark broader activity by market players.
U.S. spot ETFs now have 1.083 million BTC in total holdings, closing in on Satoshi Nakamoto’s stated 1.096 million BTC holdings. The ETFs will become the largest single entity holding Bitcoin, beating out the mysterious founder. It would be another landmark for ETFs, which have already outpaced business falcons, like MicroStrategy for Bitcoin ownership this year.
US Spot Listed ETFs just 13k #Bitcoin away from Satoshi holdings.
1.096M Satoshi
1.083M U.S. ETFsThey are gonna flip it in under a year.
Global ETPs hold 1.2M BTC@NateGeraci pic.twitter.com/X6WXEbL7Lo
— James Van Straten (@btcjvs) December 3, 2024
Bitcoin Price Stagnating
The massive influx of institutional capital didn’t move the Bitcoin price one lick. Over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency rose by a modest 1.1%, failing to break the $100k psychological mark to reach an all-time high of $96,547.
Against this backdrop, the lack of strong price movement during surging ETF interest also indicates a negative mood from investors — who are probably waiting on additional macroeconomic catalysts or regulatory changes to drive Bitcoin into the next period of growth.
ETFs have been accumulating Bitcoin quickly, especially as institutional investment in the bitcoin market becomes more prominent. As more funds draw closer to Satoshi Nakamoto’s storied holdings, the role of ETF-driven adoption in Bitcoin’s narrative becomes more pronounced.
However, the market feels stuck in limbo, and analysts and investors are scratching their heads trying to understand what would be required to kickstart the price momentum that most believe must lead to Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs. Whether or not the coming milestone of ETF holdings surpassing Satoshi’s BTC will be the catalyst remains to be seen.
