By Michael Scott
A Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Eric Balchunas, claimed that GBTC is hanging on to a $2.3B lead. The figure is half of what it was in the previous week.
Analysts claim that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) will overturn Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) before the end of April. On X, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Eric Balchunas, noted that GBTC is hanging on a $2.3B lead.
Despite the possibility of a gigantic rally in Bitcoin delaying it, he believes 4/30 is a solid date for IBIT’s triumph amid continued bleeding by GBTC.
BlackRock’s IBIT Closer to Pole Position
The previous week, the gap between the two spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the most prominent in the United States, was nearly $4B. It is believed that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) will overthrow Grayscale’s long-established fund.
GBTC started trading in 2013. However, its availability was restricted to approved and institutional investors.
In November 2021, its assets under management exceeded $43B. At a similar time the following year, amid prevalent chaos in crypto markets, its AUM plummeted to below $10B.
In January, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ratified Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. At that time, the fund’s assets were worth $28.6B.
Since then, its AUM has sunk to $19.5B as investors moved to other exchanges that offered reduced fees. Earlier in April, Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale’s chief executive officer, slammed the selling associated with the insolvencies of FTX and other crypto companies.
Sonnenshein noted that GBTC is the security inside some of the insolvent estates surrounding the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, he claimed that the stage is largely ‘behind them.’
It should be noted that Bitcoin’s prices affect the value of Grayscale’s assets under management. Despite a recent cooling-off period for Bitcoin’s price, the cryptocurrency has gained 35% since January 11.
Halving Leaves Traders Eager on Potential Market Movement
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanged for over $63,000. After establishing a new all-time high in March, the calm has been adequate to leave Bitcoin exchange-traded funds with three consecutive days of outflows.
Coinglass data shows that shares worth nearly $58M were redeemed on April 16. The three-day total, including Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, is $149M. Traditional markets do not operate on weekends.
Undeniably, Bitcoin traders will be eager to witness how the next halving event happens in the market. This Bitcoin halving splits the reward awarded to miners from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
At present, it seems like it will happen late on April 19. This date change disappointed some observants waiting to celebrate marijuana and Bitcoin on that day.