Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows surge 90%, closing in on Satoshi Nakamoto’s BTC holdings

Inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs surged by over 90% on Dec. 3 compared to the previous day, bringing their total holdings closer to matching the Bitcoin stash attributed to founder Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $675.97 million inflows on Tuesday, nearly doubling the $353.67 million seen the previous day. These investment vehicles have now enjoyed four consecutive days of net inflows, totaling over $1.45 billion within that span.

BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack for the third consecutive day, with $693.25 million in inflows to the fund. Notably, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF achieved a significant milestone last week, surpassing 500,000 BTC in its holdings.

It now accounts for 2.38% of Bitcoin’s total supply. In less than a year since its launch, IBIT is now nearing $50 billion in assets under management, making it one of the top three ETF launches of 2024.

Trailing behind, Fidelity’s FBTC recorded inflows of $52.17 million on the same day, followed by VanEck’s HODL and Bitwise’s BITB, which attracted $16.21 million and $7.8 million, respectively.

However, not all ETFs shared in the influx; ARK and 21Shares’ ARKB was the sole fund to report outflows, losing $93.47 million during the day.

Despite the strong inflows, the total trading volume for these ETFs dropped to $2.93 billion, a significant decline from the $3.91 billion recorded the previous day

Approaching Satoshi’s stash

These funds are inching closer to a historic milestone. With a collective total of 1.083 million BTC under management, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs are now within striking distance of surpassing Satoshi Nakamoto’s storied Bitcoin holdings. Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s elusive creator, is estimated to own 1.096 million BTC, representing 5.22% of the total supply cap.

The ETFs now require an additional 13,000 BTC, or approximately $1.23 billion at current market prices, to dethrone Satoshi as the largest holder of Bitcoin. Notably, this year has already seen the ETFs outpace major corporate holders like MicroStrategy, which was surpassed earlier in 2024.

Bitcoin price stalls despite inflows

Interestingly, despite the surge in ETF inflows, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price remained relatively flat. The flagship crypto asset rose by only 1.1% over the past 24 hours to trade at $96,547 at the time of writing, falling short of the highly anticipated $100,000 milestone.

This sideways trading suggests that while institutional interest in Bitcoin continues to soar, the broader market remains cautious as investors await further catalysts to push the asset into uncharted territory.