Bitwise CEO: Wealth management companies will increase their holdings of Bitcoin ETFs

Author: Amaka Nwaokocha, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley predicts that wealth management firms will increase their holdings of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The prediction comes as Bitcoin ETFs are expected to gain more attention after the halving.

Horsley's prediction is in line with the broader market belief that demand for ETFs is increasing, as Bitcoin investments in the U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) market recorded net positive inflows ahead of Bitcoin's halving day after five consecutive days of losses.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is closing the gap with Grayscale, with just $2 billion left. This puts BlackRock on track to surpass Grayscale as the world's largest Bitcoin fund. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced a 68-day decline in value, losing nearly $16 billion and reducing assets to $19.4 billion.

Source: Hunter Horsley

In contrast, IBIT assets continued to grow, with total assets reaching approximately $17.3 billion. However, Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF has seen significant capital outflows. In the past five days alone, investors have withdrawn $89.9 million, resulting in a net outflow of $1.6 billion since January.

Despite its early lead, Grayscale's dominance in the Bitcoin ETF market appears to be waning. Fidelity and BlackRock quickly gained a significant amount of market share after trading began. For example, Fidelity and BlackRock Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $37.3 million and $18.7 million, respectively, in the same week, alleviating some of the market's liquidity issues.

Bitwise CEO described the adoption of Bitcoin ETFs by registered investment advisors (RIAs) and multi-family offices as "stealthy but significant." He noted that major financial entities are carefully conducting a thorough evaluation of the Bitcoin market.

According to Farside data, GBTC saw outflows of $17.5 million on April 10, a sharp decrease from the $154.9 million outflow recorded on April 9. The previous low was on February 26, when GBTC saw outflows of $22.4 million. Since January, GBTC has seen an average daily outflow of $257.8 million.

GBTC, launched in 2015 and converted to an ETF in January, has also launched nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs after Grayscale won a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, forcing it to review a previously rejected GBTC conversion offer.

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Genesis recently sold about 36 million GBTC shares to acquire 32,041 Bitcoins.