Bitcoin Fund Holdings Hit Four-Month Low

Bitcoin funds have been bleeding coins in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s unexpected hawkish tilt.

Data tracked by ByteTree Asset Management shows the number of coins held by the U.S. and Canadian closed-ended funds and Canadian and European exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fell to 782,558 BTC (worth $28.72 billion) on Friday, the lowest since Feb. 25.
Holdings have declined by over 15,000 in the past three days alone.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve surprised markets with a hawkish turn, bringing forward the timing of its next interest rate hike to 2023.
Since then, most assets, including bitcoin, have faced selling pressure, although the leading cryptocurrency has remained relatively resilient compared to most fiat currencies and gold.

Fund holdings peaked above 815,000 BTC in mid-May, having risen by over 300,000 BTC since October.
The May peak coincided with the bitcoin’s drop from $58,000 to nearly $30,000.
“BTC held by ETFs and funds are a significant and measurable sample of network demand,” ByteTree CIO Charlie Morris told CoinDesk. “Heavy institutional buying last October led to a price surge which cooled in the second quarter this year.”

Also read: Bitcoin Remains Relatively Resilient Post-Fed as Fiat Currencies Drop Against Dollar