Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Drop As Grayscale GBTC Outflows Rise To Billions Of Dollars — Analyst Says King Crypto Saw 'Violent Moves'

Major cryptocurrencies on Monday evening dropped as selling pressure continued to outweigh buying activity.

What Happened: A wave of spot Bitcoin ETFs commenced trading on Jan. 11, propelling Bitcoin to $49,000 shortly after their debut. However, this surge was short-lived, and the price has been declining, dipping below $40,000 recently. Despite the current downturn, Bitcoin still holds a value over double that of the previous year.

The newly introduced spot products have attracted significant capital infusion, with BlackRock’s (IBIT) and Fidelity’s (FBTC) each amassing over $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) within a week of their launch. This influx must be weighed against the substantial outflow, now amounting to billions of dollars, from Grayscale’s GBTC product as investors cash in on profits or shift to more cost-effective alternatives.

Following the approval of its transition to a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), significant outflows of 19,250 BTC ($785 million) were recorded on Jan. 22, as reported by crypto intelligence firm Arkham. 

It should also be noted that FTX offloaded 22 million shares, reducing its GBTC stake to zero. The sale of its shares was valued at nearly $1 billion.

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The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.62 trillion, showing a 1.59% decrease in the past 24 hours.

Stocks surged on Monday as investors capitalized on the previous session's historic momentum, propelling markets to record highs. Notably, the S&P 500 saw a gain of 0.22%, closing at 4,850.43 and achieving a new all-time peak. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite experienced a 0.32% increase, reaching 15,360.29.

This week, investors will be closely monitoring a series of pivotal economic reports set to be released. Among them are the fourth-quarter gross domestic product, scheduled for Thursday, and the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, December's personal consumption expenditures price index, to be unveiled on Friday.

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Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst Michael Van de Poppe expressed his belief that Ethereum is poised to outperform Bitcoin in the near future, "and it has started since the ETF approval."

He added, "Massive weekly bullish divergence created, but facing crucial resistance at 0.06 BTC. Some more consolidation and then we’re likely going up."

"Bitcoin has seen a lot of violent moves during the first 1-2 hours after the US Market Open. This is likely because many of the ETF flows, that tend to occur near the start and end of a trading day," said trader Daan Crypto Trades. "I think we break $40k. I went long some 29Mar $35k strike puts."

Santiment, an on-chain analytical firm, has reported that Bitcoin experienced a brief dip below $40K for the first time since December 4. "Monday witnessed significant downturns across the crypto sector. Notably, there is 35% less discussion toward $BTC and 21% less toward ETH compared to the prior ETF approval week. FUD is beginning to enter the picture, which should create nice price bounce opportunities when it reaches its peak."

Photo by Igor Faun on Shutterstock

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