- Institutional interest in Bitcoin is growing, increasing liquidity despite Grayscale’s recent high fee withdrawals.
- Retail investors are accumulating Bitcoin, which promotes decentralization, while whales are showing less interest.
Bitcoin [BTC]the leading cryptocurrency, is starting to recover from a week-long slump, currently valued at $67,093 with an increase of 1.28% in the past 24 hours.
In addition, on May 17 Farside Investors reported that Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) saw inflows of $31.6 million, and that GBTC now oversees more than $18 billion in assets.
Source: Farside Investors
Well, Grayscale has faced major challenges since switching from a trust to a spot ETF in January. However, three consecutive days of inflows have been a boon for GBTC.
What do the executives say?
Considering GBTC’s positive outlook among investors, an @osf_rekt said,
Source: OSF/X
This transition has resulted in more than $17 billion in withdrawals, largely due to higher costs than other options.
Additionally, a series of bankruptcies within the crypto industry over the past two years have forced companies to withdraw cash to meet creditor obligations.
Interestingly, on May 15, all spot Bitcoin ETFs, with the exception of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), reported inflows.
At the same time, Grayscale’s GBTC notably recorded its first inflow in a week on a similar day, bringing in $27 million.
This highlights that institutional investors are showing interest in Bitcoin, creating liquidity, while crypto whales remain less enthusiastic.
Increase among private investors
Data from Santiment, analyzed by AMBCrypto, indicates that while whales slowed accumulation, retail investors are increasing, promoting the decentralization of the network.
Source: Santiment
This trend of retail accumulation could benefit Bitcoin in the long run by promoting greater network decentralization.
We highlight May’s positivity for spot Bitcoin ETFs, Eric BalchunasSenior Analyst at Bloomberg, noted:
“Bitcoin ETFs have had a solid two weeks with inflows of $1.3 billion, offsetting all of April’s negative flows, putting them back around the high-water mark of +$12.3 billion net since launch. This IMO key number ensures that the inflow and outflow (which are normal) are balanced.”
Source: Eric Balchunas/X
Providing advice to investors, he further noted:
“The last two months show why it is best not to get emotional about the flows in and out, part of ETF life, but a) I think they will be positive in the long term; b) the current on both sides is small compared to aum maybe (1-2%), so it’s never SO OVER or SO BACK if you think about it.