Bitcoin ETFs (Ex-GBTC) Surpass MicroStrategy in BTC Holdings: 192,255 BTC and Counting

• Bitcoin ETF funds now hold over 192,000 BTC, surpassing the holdings of MicroStrategy. BlackRock and Fidelity dominate inflows.
• The Bitcoin price rallied to a one-month high, propelled by steady inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and growing anticipation of the upcoming halving event in April.

Inflows in the spot Bitcoin ETFs have been growing once again this week with Thursday recording the highest-ever inflows of $400 million for February, so far. Excluding Grayscale’s GBTC, spot Bitcoin ETFs added nearly 5,000 additional tokens to their holdings, these ETFs now possess over 192,000 BTC, thus surpassing the holdings of MicroStrategy (MSTR), which totaled 190,000 as of the end of January.

Despite being on the market for less than a month, these funds have attracted billions of dollars from investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin without the need to directly purchase and store it. GBTC started as an operating closed-end trust years ago, initially holding approximately 630,000 Bitcoins. Over the past month, tokens have been leaving GBTC, likely due to profit-taking or investors seeking lower fees. As of yesterday, the fund holds just over 470,000 Bitcoins.

According to data from Farside Investors, BlackRock (IBIT) took the lead with total inflows surpassing $204 million. Following closely behind, Fidelity (FBTC) recorded nearly $128 million in total inflows. These figures underscore the dominance of these two entities in the total inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch.

Bitcoin code dictates that only 21 million Bitcoins can ever exist, implying a finite supply. With the ETF issuers (excluding GBTC) such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck, among others, combined with MicroStrategy, they now collectively hold approximately 1.8% of the total available Bitcoins. When factoring in GBTC’s 470,000 tokens, this percentage increases to 4%.

BTC Price Rallies Amid Strong ETF Inflows, Pre-Halving Rally Starts

The Bitcoin price has rallied for the second consecutive day in a row gaining 4% in the last 24 hours and shooting past $46,500. The Bitcoin price reached its one-month peak, supported by consistent inflows into several spot Bitcoin ETFs. Additionally, increasing focus on the impending halving event scheduled for April contributed to the positive sentiment.

According to Caroline Mauron, co-founder of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provider Orbit Markets, the recent slowdown in outflows from Grayscale is poised to reignite Bitcoin’s upward trajectory. Mauron predicts that the narrative surrounding the upcoming halving event will gain momentum, potentially propelling Bitcoin’s price beyond $50,000 in the coming weeks.

Also, a large number of Bitcoins have been fleeing the exchanges. In the last two weeks, investors have withdrawn  25,305 Bitcoins worth $1.1 billion from the exchanges. As per the Santiment data, the Bitcoin supply on the exchanges has hit the lowest in six years, since 2017. Currently, only 5.3% of the total Bitcoins in circulation are present with the exchanges.

#Bitcoin's price dominance has continued to grow over #altcoins, as its market value surged as high as $45.5K today. Traders remain skeptical toward the asset for a 3rd straight week. This is the lowest ratio of $BTC on exchanges since December, 2017. https://t.co/XC3UK258lM pic.twitter.com/4MwvXE28RC

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 8, 2024

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez analyzes Bitcoin’s price, noting vital support at $42,560, pivotal for its trajectory. More than a million Bitcoins have been transacting at this price point. On the upside, the Bitcoin price faces a resistance at $47,360 and $56,970.