Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reported a 5% increase in premarket trading on Monday as it welcomed its first inflows since January, as reported by Reuters. GBTC was converted into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) earlier this year and experienced nearly $17.5 billion of outflows since then.
The recent inflows, amounting to $63 million on Friday, were noted by Farside Investors, a notable shift in the fund’s financial trajectory. According to a dashboard by on-chain data platform Arkham Intelligence, GBTC now holds $18.8 billion under management, equivalent to 295,409 BTC.
Reuters added that Grayscale has announced plans to seek SEC approval for a new Bitcoin Mini Trust with lower fees, although the fee structure has not yet been established.
BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF is trailing behind GBTC, with 273,824 BTC under management, or $17.2 billion. Moreover, IBIT has been capturing investments from high-profile traditional institutions. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Yong Rong Asset Management based in Hong Kong acquired almost $38 million worth of IBIT shares, which makes up 12% of its reported holdings.
Balchunas highlights that Hong Kong investors now have access to spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs regionally, and wonders if the high volume combined with the lower fees is the reason behind Yong Rong going for a US-traded ETF.
The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs by the SEC in January marked a significant change in the regulatory landscape, offering investors a way to gain bitcoin exposure without direct ownership.
