Bitcoin may be bouncing back from its dismal performance much sooner than anyone thinks – and Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto exchange FTX could be the key to the digital asset’s recovery.
According to reports released on Monday, January 22nd, those handling the bankruptcy estate for the fallen exchange recently sold all 22 million of its shareholdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) – approximately 20,000 in bitcoin – for the sizable sum of $1 billion.
What’s Been Going On?
Since spot exchange-traded funds in the United States made their debut last January 11th, Bitcoin prices have performed poorly mostly because of significant sales from the GBTC. Insiders point out that the amount of Bitcoin held by the Trust stands at 567,000 as of Friday, January 19th, considerably lower than where it was before the eleventh when it stood at 620,000.
The new sport ETFs have, as of press time, accumulated around $3.9 billion in assets under management (AUMs), as well as 94,000 in bitcoin, since they began trading. However, experts point out that over half of those Bitcoin AUMs may only be those of GBTC holders shifting their assets.
Steven Lubka, managing director for Swan, pointed out that around $1 billion of recent GBTC sales involve the FTX estate. This means that any inflows into the new ETFs are certainly not recycled funds. Also, over a third of recent GBTC sales were caused by a single non-economic actor.
