Crypto funds see $110M in Bitcoin outflows as BTC price drops and investors risk off
The latest report from CoinShares shows that there were minor outflows from institutional crypto investment products over the past seven days.
According to CoinShares’ “Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly” report published on April 15, institutional investors reduced exposure to digital assets, with total crypto investment products seeing total outflows of $126 million this past week.
Once again, the lion’s share of movement was attributed to Bitcoin (BTC), with $110 million in outflows.
CoinShares explained that this outflow highlights “hesitancy among investors” since the positive momentum has worn off. For the month leading up to the recent wave of outflows, inflows of $520 million into crypto funds were seen, with more than 99% of that coming into Bitcoin.
Weekly trading volumes in investment products saw an uptick from $17 billion the previous week to $21 billion in the week ending April 12, according to the report.
CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said,
“ETP/ETF activity dropped relative to the overall market, from 40% of total volumes on trusted exchanges over the last month to 31% last week, demonstrating this caution among investors.”
The data follows heavy selling amid geopolitical tensions and uncertainties surrounding Federal Reserve rate cuts in June. Institutions withdrew nearly $82 million from spot Bitcoin trades ETFs between April 8 and April 12, as the exodus from Grayscale’s GBTC continued.
Regionally, only Australia, Brazil and Germany showed inflows, with $1.6 million, $3 million and $28.6 million incoming, respectively. The largest regional outflows came from the United States, with $145 million.
BTC price drops below $65,000 amid spot Bitcoin ETF approval in Hong Kong
While Bitcoin remains up on longer time frames, its price action has been defined by high volatility over the last few days.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that Bitcoin fell sharply at the Wall Street open on Monday from $66,008 to an intraday low of $63,940.
Analysts at CryptoQuant believe there is still a high probability of more price correction for Bitcoin. This is supported by several factors, including high average 30-day funding rates, resistance from the current all-time high, and a market setup that allows “large players to set up large positions.”
Related: $70K BTC price by the halving? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
CryptoQuant author Gaa said:
“Historically, when there are large Retail profit-taking moves, it means a potential top is in the making. After the rapid fall in prices over the last two days, there has been a significant outflow of realizations by these holders.”
The latest drawdown in BTC prices came after Hong Kong became the second country to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, the Asian country has not launched these ETFs as most market participants expected, with possible trading likely to begin next week, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Balchunas warned his followers not to “expect a lot of flows” from the HK spot Bitcoin ETFs as the market is small compared to the U.S. ETF sector.
Reducing investor sentiment around HK spot Bitcoin ETFs, coupled with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, are likely to pull BTC price lower until after the Bitcoin supply halving.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.