Fidelity’s FBTC Sees First-Time Outflows as BlackRock’s IBIT Breaks Inflow Streak

The United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is struggling with inflows as investors withdraw their assets in droves. This wave of withdrawals has affected the two largest funds, causing them to break their inflow streak and even lose some of their assets.

According to data from CoinGlass, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin (FBTC) witnessed its first outflow since launch on April 25, a day after the spot Bitcoin ETF of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, broke its 71-day inflow streak.

FBTC Witnesses Outflows for the First Time

Yesterday, FBTC saw outflows of $22.6 million for the first time since inception. The fund’s outflows were alongside that of Ark Invest’s ARKB, Bitwise’s BITB, and Valkyrie’s BRRR, which lost $31.3 million, $6 million, and $20.2 million, respectively.

In addition, Grayscale’s GBTC, which has been on a 73-day outflow streak since its conversion from a Bitcoin Trust, also witnessed withdrawals of $139.4 million. The only ETF that saw inflows was that of asset manager Franklin Templeton, which received investments of $1.9 million. The rest, including BlackRock’s IBIT, saw zero inflows and outflows.

Altogether, the spot Bitcoin ETF market saw outflows totaling $217.6 million, representing its second and highest outflow this week.

While FBTC’s outflows were its first since launch, the fund has witnessed several days of zero inflows, with at least three in April alone. Regardless, the fund holds 154,000 bitcoins (BTC) worth over $9.9 billion.

A Breather Was Overdue: Analyst

On the other hand, IBIT recorded its first day of zero inflows on April 24, a day after joining the top ten United States ETFs with the longest inflow streak. BlackRock’s fund defied an outflow streak the spot Bitcoin ETF market witnessed between April 12 and 18, accumulating assets while its rivals saw no inflows and some withdrawals.

Despite zero inflows for two consecutive trading days, IBIT remains the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with assets under management totaling $17.24 billion (274,460 BTC). The ETF also set a new record, topping the list of ETFs with the highest assets after their first 72 days in the market. An X post by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas showed FBTC came second on the list, outpacing the following funds by a far margin.

Balchunas said that “the league of own-ness” of IBIT and FBTC indicated that their inflows were overheated and that a hiatus was overdue.