Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have faced significant outflows this year, while ETFs tracking the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC) have seen strong inflows.
According to Bloomberg intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas, the leading 14 gold ETFs have experienced outflows of $2.4 billion in 2024 as of February 14.
Among the gold ETFs, only three have seen minor inflows this year: VanEck Merk Gold Shares, FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF, and Proshares UltraShort Gold.
The largest outflows came from BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust Micro and iShares Gold Trust, with losses of $230.4 million and $423.6 million, respectively.
Meanwhile it’s a pretty bad scene right now in the gold ETFs category… via @SirYappityyapp in our just published weekly flow note pic.twitter.com/C0T17JZpiA
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 14, 2024
In contrast, preliminary data from Farside indicates that the ten approved spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted aggregate inflows of $3.89 billion this year, reaching record volumes.
This divergence in investor sentiment highlights the growing preference for Bitcoin over gold as an investment vehicle.
Some speculate that the outflows from gold ETFs are not necessarily flowing directly into Bitcoin ETFs, but rather into US equities driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO).
The decline in gold prices in 2024 has further exacerbated the divergence.
The commodity has experienced a 3.4% loss since the beginning of the year, reaching a two-month low of $1,993 per ounce on February 14.
Conversely, Bitcoin prices have surged by 23.5% during the same period, hitting a two-year high of $52,483 on the same day.
In a recent report, the World Gold Council also highlighted global gold ETF outflows and a reduction in speculative
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