Spot bitcoin ETF inflows in May have made up for April outflows: analyst

Inflows from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May have made up for last month's outflows, according to an ETF analyst.

"The bitcoin ETFs have put together a solid two weeks with $1.3 billion in inflows, which offsets the entirety of the negative flows in April — putting them back around high water mark of +$12.3 billion net since launch," wrote Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on the social media platform X.

Balchunas claims that the last two months exhibit why traders shouldn't get "emotional" over inflows and outflows; it's a "part of ETF life." He believes spot bitcoin ETF flows will show long-term net positives, adding that flow amounts on either side remain small, around 1% and 2%, compared to the funds' assets under management.

"It's never 'so over' or 'so back' if you think about it," Balchunas said.

April saw around $344 million in net withdrawals for spot bitcoin ETFs, with around $51.5 million leaving on April 29. These outflows were largely driven by Grayscale's converted fund GBTC. However, U.S. spot bitcoin ETF hit net inflows totaling $116.8 million on May 13, reversing what had been four weeks of net outflows, The Block previously reported.

On May 14, 15 and 16, ETF inflows reached $151.4 million, $303 million and $257.3 million, respectively.

Spot bitcoin ETF AUM

As Balchunas noted, spot bitcoin ETF inflows and outflows pale in comparison to the funds' assets under management. Grayscale's GBTC and BlackRock's IBIT, two of the largest spot bitcoin ETFs, hold $18.27 billion and $17.31 billion in assets, The Block's Data Dashboard shows. Fidelity's fund FBTC also amassed $9.64 billion.

IBIT and FBTC broke records for how quickly an ETF amassed $10 billion in assets under management. The JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) formerly held that record, taking around three trading years to gather $10 billion AUM. IBIT gathered that amount in 49 trading days, with FBTC coming in second with 77 days, The Block previously reported.