Institutional interest in cryptocurrency appears to be waning, as noted by the analytics firm Glassnode. Since early November, the 30-day simple moving average for net flows into US spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs has shifted to negative territory, signaling a phase of reduced engagement from institutional investors. The firm highlighted that this trend reflects a broader liquidity contraction within the cryptocurrency market.
In the last week alone, crypto funds experienced significant outflows amounting to $952 million. This marks the sixth withdrawal in ten weeks, indicating a consistent pattern of selling pressure, according to Coinglass. Despite this trend, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has managed to attract $62.5 billion in inflows since its launch, outperforming all competing spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Interestingly, IBIT has also surpassed the SPDR Gold Shares fund (GLD) in inflows, despite having a negative return for the year. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that IBIT's ability to capture substantial investments, even in a challenging year, could signify strong growth potential in more favorable market conditions.