Bitcoin falls close to $64,000 as ETFs bleed $140 million

Bitcoin’s price plunged close to $64,000 on Friday, hitting a low of $64,300, according to data from TradingView. The drop followed major withdrawals from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, totaling $139.88 million on Thursday.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw $53 million in its daily net outflows, while Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) recorded $51 million in outflows, according to SoSoValue’s data.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF experienced $32 million in outflows, while VanEck Bitcoin Trust and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF saw outflows of $4 million and $2 million, respectively.

In contrast, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust enjoyed $1.5 million in inflows. There were no flows in ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Franklin Templeton Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), and WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin (BTCW) during the day’s trading session.

The latest record marked the fifth consecutive day of losses for US spot Bitcoin ETFs, though this is not the most extended. The longest streak of outflows occurred from April 24 to May 2, resulting in a $1.2 billion reduction.

Historically, Bitcoin’s price actions have reflected ETF flows. However, over the past few weeks, numerous factors have taken turns.

According to Arkham Intelligence, the recent selling pressure could come from the German government, which has transferred approximately $195 million in Bitcoin to exchanges since June 19. Data shows that the government still holds around $3 billion worth of BTC.

UPDATE: German Government Still Selling BTC> $195M So Far.

In the past 2 hours, the German Government sent $65M in BTC to 2 likely exchange deposits including Coinbase.

The German Government moved $600M BTC yesterday, sending $130M BTC to 4 likely exchange deposits including… pic.twitter.com/in2urlDBE0

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) June 20, 2024

Another factor to consider is hedge funds’ exposure to BTC. According to André Dragosch, Head of Research at ETC Group, hedge funds have reduced their market exposure to a mere 0.37 over the last 20 trading days, a low not seen since October 2020.

BOOM: Crypto hedge funds have really thrown in the towel on #Bitcoin lately.

They have reduced their $BTC market exposure to only 0.37 over the past 20 trading days. 👀

Lowest since October 2020. pic.twitter.com/WZCRK9QlMG

— André Dragosch | Bitcoin & Macro ⚡ (@Andre_Dragosch) June 19, 2024

Macroeconomic factors, including the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance on interest rates, could also affect the market, with cuts unlikely until later this year. The Fed said it needed more data to be confident that inflation is on track to its 2% target.

Bitcoin’s bearish momentum could be aggravated by those factors. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,500, down almost 8% in a month.