Outflow of funds from Bitcoin ETFs, are most of them sold through FTX? Selling pressure eases: Officials | CoinDesk JAPAN

Following the Bitcoin ETF approval, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has been converted into an ETF. But since then, more than $2 billion in GBTC has been sold and Bitcoin (BTC) prices have fallen.

Most of that outflow was due to FTX’s bankruptcy estate selling 22 million GBTC shares, according to private data seen by CoinDesk and two people familiar with the matter.

Multiple Bitcoin ETFs began trading on January 11th following approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). GBTC had been in operation for 10 years and had nearly $30 billion in assets under management at that time.

Currently, Bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock and Fidelity are collecting money, but billions of dollars have been drained from GBTC and Bitcoin is being sold as a result.

The 22 million shares sold by FTX are worth nearly $1 billion, according to data reviewed by CoinDesk. It appears that FTX has sold all its GBTC holdings.

Bitcoin prices have fallen since the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, a move that is contrary to the expectations many had before the approval. Bitcoin ETFs were expected to make it much easier for ordinary people to invest in Bitcoin, leading to wildly optimistic predictions about Bitcoin’s price.

However, in theory, selling pressure is likely to ease now that FTX has completed the sale of its GBTC holdings. This is because it is not often that a bankruptcy estate liquidates its assets.

According to a filing dated November 3, 2023, FTX held 22.3 million shares of GBTC as of October 25, 2023.

FTX currently held GBTC in a brokerage account with Marex Capital Markets. Marex declined to comment. Galaxy Digital, which is helping FTX’s bankruptcy estate sell its holdings, also declined to comment.

｜Translation/Editing: CoinDesk JAPAN Editorial Department
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original text: FTX Sold About $1B of Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF, Explaining Much of Outflow: Sources