U.S. ETFs for bitcoin experienced another day of increased inflows on Tuesday, extending their streak of gains to 11 consecutive days. Despite reports suggesting that Blackrock’s IBIT holds more bitcoin than Grayscale’s GBTC, the official website of IBIT indicates that the fund still needs 322.28 BTC to surpass GBTC. However, there may be a discrepancy with the official numbers as the web portal was last updated on May 28.
On Tuesday, the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a global trade volume of $1.61 billion, with $45 million in inflows. Seven ETFs reported net inflows, while GBTC experienced negative outflows. Both HODL and EZBC reported neutral numbers with no inflows or outflows. These inflows on May 28 marked the 11th consecutive day of gains for U.S. BTC ETFs.
Various reports on Wednesday claimed that Blackrock’s IBIT had surpassed GBTC in terms of BTC holdings. However, this information contradicts the updates on Blackrock’s and Grayscale’s websites. The updated reserve status of IBIT shows that it currently holds 288,670.86 BTC, valued at $19.52 billion based on the current BTC price of $67,632 per unit. On the other hand, Grayscale’s GBTC holds 288,993.14 BTC, worth approximately $19.54 billion at the same BTC price. IBIT needs 322.28 BTC, equivalent to $21.79 million, to match GBTC’s holdings and slightly more to overtake its reserve status. Data from sosovalue.xyz does show that IBIT’s net assets are valued higher than GBTC’s. Presently, sosovalue.xyz shows IBIT’s assets under management (AUM) at $19.68 billion, while GBTC’s AUM is valued at $19.65 billion.
Although it is possible that this could occur during today’s trading sessions or that there could be a slight discrepancy in the numbers, it seems that IBIT has not yet overtaken GBTC, at least according to the official updates from both companies. The IBIT web portal still indicates that IBIT’s BTC reserves or AUM remain slightly lower than GBTC’s. However, several analysts, including Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, believe that IBIT has surpassed GBTC in terms of AUM. Balchunas stated, “It’s official now. IBIT is king of the category and will probably remain so for decades. The combination of low fees, high liquidity, and the Ishares brand name is just too powerful (although there’s plenty of room for everyone).”
What are your thoughts on the competition between IBIT and GBTC in terms of bitcoin reserves? Share your opinions in the comments section below.
