Glassnode: Bitcoin funds have absorbed most of the selling pressure of long-term holders

What’s new? Experts at blockchain analytics platform Glassnode have highlighted the growing role of US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in maintaining liquidity and stability in the crypto market in a new report. It is claimed that they have absorbed the brunt of selling pressure over the past month amid the asset’s appreciation to record highs.

Glassnode report

What else is known? Bitcoin has risen 40% in 30 days while hitting all-time highs several times. As a result, many long-term holders (LTH) rushed to lock in profits and sold about 137 000 bitcoins between October 8 and November 13. Glassnode claims that 93% of these assets were bought by issuers of spot BTC ETFs, which avoided selling pressure and the resulting decline in the exchange rate.

On November 20, bitcoin approached $95 000, bringing its 90-day gain to more than 60%, significantly higher than gold and silver with gains of 5,3% and 8%, respectively. Analysts say this stark contrast points to a potential capital shift from traditional commodity assets to bitcoin, a younger and more dynamic digital asset.

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Bitcoin’s market capitalization exceeded $1,86 trillion, more than JPMorgan Bank and payment companies Visa and Mastercard combined. As a result, the first cryptocurrency turned out to be the seventh-largest asset in the world, surpassing silver and the oil company Saudi Aramco.

Over the past 30 days, cumulative inflows into the crypto market reached $62,9 billion, most of which came from the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks, while the supply of stablecoins increased by $9,6 billion. This is the highest inflow since March 2024 and reflects the rebound in confidence and demand following the US presidential election, Glassnode writes.

As for spot ETFs, weekly inflows into such products have risen to $1-$2 billion since mid-October, one of the most significant periods of inflows and indicative of growing institutional demand.

While bitcoin funds were able to absorb most of the selling pressure in the period following the US presidential election, as early as November 13, sales by long-term holders began to exceed net inflows into ETFs as their unrealized gains reached extreme levels.

The situation that took place at the end of February was repeated: then the imbalance between supply and demand led to increased market volatility and consolidation of the asset rate in a narrow range.

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Trading of spot BTC ETF shares on US stock exchanges began on January 11 after the SEC approved the securities. Their issuers are leading investment companies.

IBIT from BlackRock and BRRRR from Valkyrie are traded on Nasdaq, FBTC from Fidelity, ARKB from ARK Invest and 21 Shares, HODL from VanEck, BTCO from Invesco and Galaxy, EZBC from Franklin Templeton and BTCW from WisdomTree are available on CBOE, while GBTC and BTC from Grayscale, BITB from Bitwise and DEFI from Hashdex are listed on NYSE.

All funds, except for GBTC by Grayscale, which has operated as a trust in previous years, are new and are showing positive fund flows. Excluding GBTC with its $20,25 billion outflow, the inflows of 11 new ETFs are approaching $50 billion, and collectively, all 12 funds have accumulated nearly $100 billion worth of bitcoins under management, which is more than 5% of the asset’s market capitalization.

The leader in terms of inflow of funds and assets under management is IBIT from the world’s largest investment company BlackRock: $29,58 billion and $44,2 billion, respectively. It was also the first to launch options on shares of its bitcoin fund on November 19, which, according to analysts, contributed to the growth of the cryptocurrency to new highs.

Even before the launch of BTC ETFs, experts noted that the new products would create a consistently high demand for the asset, which would push it upward. Last month, issuers bought an average of 19 000 coins each week, according to data from blockchain analytics platform Dune.