BlackRock Bitcoin ETF hits 69 days of inflows on '4/20' halving day

Bitcoin ( BTC ) is supplying some classic memes this week — and it goes beyond the “4/20” halving date.

Thanks to the success of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), market observers are celebrating a halving which has been “almost too perfect.”

A meme-filled Bitcoin halving

BTC price action may be firmly sideways this halving , but its timing is giving some a feeling that it was all meant to be.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Eric Balchunas, a dedicated ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, revealed a curious halving day coincidence.

Not only did the seminal event hit on April 20 — “4/20,” a key meme date in itself — but the largest United States spot Bitcoin ETF sealed 69 days of straight inflows.

“It’s a little too perfect,” Balchunas summarized.

The Bitcoin ETFs have seen a marked slowdown in inflows since hitting their peak in March. Despite this, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest ETF by assets under management, has yet to see a single day of outflows.

The latest data covering ETF flows, including from United Kingdom-based investment firm Farside , meanwhile shows momentum tentatively returning toward the end of last week.

On April 19, IBIT took in just under $30 million, while the second-largest ETF, operated by Fidelity Investments, managed nearly $55 million.

Outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an ongoing topic of debate in themselves, were modest on the day at $45.8 million.

Bitcoin ETF flows (screenshot). Source: Farside

Bitcoin ETF performance divides opinion

Recent form 13F filings, meanwhile, have led to concerns that Bitcoin ETFs have not managed to permeate the mainstream majority.

Discussing first-quarter allocation data, Jim Bianco, creator of macro research firm Biacno Research, described it as a “disappointment.”

“Unrealized gains are shrinking fast,” he added in an X thread about ETF investor gains versus current BTC price action.

Bitcoin ETF cumulative flows. Source: Jim Bianco/X

Countering this, Balchunas suggested that asset managers would treat the products like “hot sauce.”

“IBIT now has about 60 holders reported but they only account for a tiny 0.4% of total shares out,” he wrote in an X thread.

“Shows that most of the bites are nibbles but there are a LOT of fish. This in tune with the high daily # of trades as well and our thesis that this is gonna be used like hot sauce for 60/40 ppl, just gonna add a little bit.”

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