BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs in Top 10 January Flows

BlackRock and Fidelity's Bitcoin ETFs surge in January flow, riding the New Spot Bitcoin wave

In January, BlackRock and Fidelity's Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) garnered significant attention, accumulating approximately US$4.8 billion in total flows. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) secured the eighth position with an estimated US$2.6 billion in net flows, while Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) claimed the tenth spot with US$2.2 billion in net flows, according to a Feb. 3rd report by Morningstar research analyst Lan Anh Tran, utilizing data derived from the issuers' websites.

Remarkably, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced the second-highest outflows among ETFs in January, with an estimated US$5.7 billion exiting the fund during the month.

Morningstar's analysis suggests that BlackRock and Fidelity's Bitcoin funds are engaged in a "clear two-horse race" among the nine new Bitcoin funds. Additionally, Geraci, in a separate post, noted that the joint ETF from ARK Invest and 21 Shares, along with Bitwise's funds, both managing assets under US$650 million, are emerging as a "strong middle class." He predicted that these funds are likely to reach US$1 billion in assets in the "not too distant future."

The data comes at a time when U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have witnessed six consecutive days of positive net inflows, totaling nearly US$715 million. Notably, the majority of these inflows were attributed to BlackRock and Fidelity's funds, as reported by BitMEX Research on Feb. 3.

Between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, the nine new spot Bitcoin funds experienced higher inflows compared to the diminishing outflows from Grayscale's funds. The outflows from Grayscale slowed over the week, with the GBTC recording its second-lowest outflow day on Feb. 2 at US$144.6 million.

This six-day surge in inflows followed a four-day period of outflows between Jan. 22 and 25 when GBTC outflows peaked, resulting in a total net exit of US$431.8 million from the ten ETFs.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, observed in a Feb. 3 post that it was remarkable to witness the nine ETFs, excluding GBTC, "comeback from that dip last week." He noted that typically there is a slow decline after a big-hyped launch, but the net inflows into the funds during their third week of trading suggest that these ETFs have sustainable momentum.