Grayscale spot bitcoin ETF inflows may be result of short-term trading: Bloomberg ETF analyst

Grayscale’s spot bitcoin ETF ended a 78-day streak of outflows after registering two consecutive days of net inflows.

Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart told The Block while he's not absolutely sure what might have caused the swing, there could be a few different explanations.

"It could be a short-term tactical trade or pairs trade of sorts. Where the fee is far less relevant over shorter time frames," he said.

Grayscale launched its ETF, a conversion of its flagship GBTC fund, as a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund in January. At the time of launch, the fund had nearly $30 billion in assets under management but then shed billions of dollars in outflows. The firm's product charges a higher fee than competing funds issued by firms like BlackRock and Fidelity.

"If market makers are using GBTC as part of making markets, it could cause [the inflows]," Seyffart said. "It could [also] be someone from a platform where GBTC is the only approved vehicle to get spot bitcoin access."

While Grayscale notching a couple of days of inflows doesn't matter in the "grand scheme," according to Seyffart, overall, the amount of capital flowing into the U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs appears to have recently tapered off slightly amid a more tepid bitcoin market.