Bitcoin ETFs Extend Positive Streak with Millions in New Inflows

BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC led the inflows, though some funds like Ark and 21Shares experienced outflows. In contrast, Ethereum ETFs saw modest outflows. Japanese firm Metaplanet Inc. recently boosted its Bitcoin holdings by close to $7 million worth of BTC, while Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell sold over $1 billion in company shares. This sparked speculation that he might also be considering investing in BTC. Additionally, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has expanded investment opportunities by allowing professional investors to access foreign virtual asset ETFs.

Bitcoin ETFs Surge in Net Inflows

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued their positive momentum with $61.3 million in net inflows on Monday. This was their eighth consecutive day of positive flows.

Leading the way was BlackRock’s IBIT, which attracted $72.15 million in inflows. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $8.32 million in net inflows. However, Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB saw a reversal, and recorded $9.5 million in net outflows on Monday after attracting inflows of $203.07 million the previous Friday. Similarly, Bitwise’s BITB registered $9.67 million in daily net outflows.

Bitcoin ETF flow (Source: Farside Investors)

Grayscale’s GBTC logged rare daily inflows of $26.15 million last Friday, and saw zero flows on Monday. Seven other spot bitcoin ETFs also reported no flows. The total trading volume for these 12 ETFs dropped to $1.37 billion, down from $1.87 billion on Friday.

In contrast, US spot Ethereum ETFs experienced modest outflows on Monday, totaling $822,290. This happened after the ETFs attracted inflows of $58.65 million last Friday. 

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) reported outflows of $11.81 million, while BlackRock’s ETHA recorded its fifth consecutive day of inflows, with $10.99 million flowing into the fund. The seven other spot ether ETFs saw no flows. The combined trading volume of the nine spot ether ETFs dropped to $149.14 million, down from $249.09 million last Friday. 

Ethereum ETF flow (Source: Farside Investors)

At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading hands at $63,953.21 after its price slipped by about 0.95% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum’s (ETH) price managed a slight 0.26% increase to trade at $2,645.33. 

Investors are not only stocking up on BTC through ETFs. Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. announced recently that it bought an additional 107.913 BTC, which is valued at close to 1 billion yen ($6.9 million). The Tokyo-listed firm made the purchase at an average price of 9.26 million yen, or $64,168, per bitcoin. Its total bitcoin holdings now stands at 506.745 BTC, worth about $32.2 million at current prices.

Metaplanet shared that it acquired all of its bitcoin for a total of 4.75 billion yen at an average price of 9.37 million yen ($64,931) per bitcoin. 

Metaplanet’s announcement 

The firm’s stock rose by 4.24% on Tuesday, trading at around 1,033 yen during the afternoon session, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.91% for the day. Metaplanet has been actively buying bitcoin in recent months, after its May announcement that it  adopted bitcoin as a strategic treasury reserve asset.

In comparison, MicroStrategy, which is led by Michael Saylor, is still the largest corporate bitcoin holder with 252,220 BTC. Marathon Digital follows with 26,200 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries data.

Michael Dell Getting Ready to Buy BTC?

Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies could also be gearing up to buy some BTC after he sold 10 million shares of his company, valued at $1.22 billion. This was his second large sale in September. 

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 30, Dell still has 16.91 million shares in the company, which are worth more than $2 billion. This sale happened after a recent sale where Dell sold 10 million shares worth approximately $1.17 billion across multiple transactions between Sept. 19 and Sept. 23.

Dell Technologies stock price YTD (Source: Google Finance)

Dell Technologies’ stock has risen 58.5% this year, driven by increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) companies and a surge in demand for AI-compatible servers. The company’s stock performance also helped it rejoin the S&P 500 on Sept. 24. Despite these very large stock sales, Dell’s share price has seen almost no reaction, with only a 0.33% dip in after-hours trading on Sept. 30 and a 0.70+% gain over the last five trading days.

Naturally, Dell’s stock sales caused some speculation, especially after some cryptic social media posts in June. Dell posted phrases that are commonly associated with Bitcoin, like  “Scarcity creates value,” which caught the attention of Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor. 

Although Dell reposted Saylor’s comments and shared AI-generated images referencing Bitcoin, Dell Technologies did not add any Bitcoin to its balance sheet in the second quarter of 2024, despite showing strong financial results, with revenues up 9% year-over-year and record server and networking revenue growth of 80%.

Taiwan Expands Investment Options with Digital Asset ETFs

In other ETF news, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) officially allowed professional investors to engage with foreign virtual asset ETFs. This decision was announced on Sept. 30, and aims to expand product options and open investment opportunities for professional investors to boost Taiwan’s financial market competitiveness. The FSC is committed to monitoring the virtual asset market while also focusing on risk management and regulatory compliance.

Historically, Taiwan has taken a more cautious approach to digital assets, and expressed concerns over fraud and market volatility. The FSC even implemented strict Anti-Money Laundering measures that especially target crypto exchanges. On the other hand, the government also supported initiatives like the 2018 FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, which allows companies to test business models without full regulatory compliance. This regulatory shift toward digital asset ETFs aligns Taiwan with other global financial centers like Hong Kong and Singapore.

By restricting access to professional investors, the FSC wants to balance exposure to digital assets while still mitigating certain risks. In Taiwan, digital asset ETFs are classified as high-risk, and firms have to follow FSC guidelines for professional investor management.

Despite embracing digital asset ETFs, Taiwan’s central bank is still quite cautious about launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Central Bank President Yang Chin-long previously stated that there is no rush to introduce a CBDC, and he favors a more gradual development over competition with other nations. While Taiwan has developed a CBDC protocol for retail payments and is exploring a wholesale CBDC proof-of-concept, the central bank’s approach is conservative.