- Bitcoin’s price hovers below pre-ETF levels despite historic approval.
- Peter Schiff blames large Grayscale Bitcoin Trust outflows for muted performance.
- GBTC has seen over USD $1 billion in outflows throughout the first few days of ETF trading.
- However, an average of USD $150 million worth of Bitcoin ETF shares are being purchased daily, unrelated to the GBTC sell-off.
The industry experienced one of its most historic moments at the break of 2024, as the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs for US investors. Although the impact of this event has yet to be fully realised, some in the industry were hoping that BTC would explode past the USD $50K (AUD $76K) – which it has come tantalisingly close to doing in the past few months. However, the opposite has occurred of late, with the price of BTC hovering below its pre-ETF state at around USD $42K (AUD $64K). Many believe the lacklustre performance is simply due to investors already pricing in the SEC approval, but Peter Schiff has other ideas.
GBTC Outflows to Blame for Losses, According to Schiff
Peter Schiff, an experienced analyst with a penchant for gold, believes that BTC’s sideways price movement is due to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) outflows exceeding those buying into the ten other Bitcoin ETFs that were approved earlier this month. He goes on to say:
Once the initial ETF demand wanes, I expect a bigger price drop.
Peter SchiffOutflows from GBTC have accelerated over the first week or so of ETF trading, as investors look to consolidate their assets into other funds, actual BTC or simply hedge their positions. Monday (Tuesday Australian time) saw the biggest market sell-off to date, with GBTC bleeding nearly USD $600M (AUD $915M) in assets. All up, the fund has seen over a billion dollars worth of outflows, with more likely to come. Yet, despite all the selling there is still a clear demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with an average of USD $150M (AUD $228M) worth of inflows unrelated to GBTC each day.
It’s also worth pointing out that Peter Schiff isn’t exactly Bitcoin’s number-one fan – so it’s always best to take his opinions with a grain of salt. He followed up his comments around GBTC outflows with a jab at Bitcoin, while also praising his beloved gold.
In fact, Schiff has famously been anti-crypto for so long, and so vehemently, that he has a hefty portfolio of predictions that have ended up looking pretty embarrassing.
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