Grayscale Facing Intense Backlash for Market Meltdown, Here’s Why

Grayscale faces intense backlash for the current market meltdown, stirred by the selloffs in its spot Bitcoin ETF product.
By Godfrey Benjamin
Australia's Largest Bank Offers Monochrome Bitcoin ETF To 17M Customers

Grayscale is currently under intense fire from members of the community for what many considered its single-handed impact in dragging the market down recently. According to Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter, Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF product GBTC is best considered “a gigantic wrecking ball of toxic waste.”

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Grayscale Investment’s GBTC Underperforming

Following the SEC’s approval of eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs, Grayscale has been underperforming in terms of trading volume and net inflows when compared to others like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments. 

There have been significant outflows from the organization running to the tune of billions. On the fifth trading day, Grayscale recorded a hefty outflow of $579.6 million and this summed the total outflows from the platform to nearly $2.2 billion.

 This is amidst the numerous transfers of Bitcoin that the firm has made to several crypto exchanges including Coinbase. According to data from Lookonchain, Grayscale has deposited a total of 63,991 Bitcoin valued at over $2.68 billion based on the market price of the coin at the time. All of these movements might have triggered reactions from the broad crypto sector culminating in encompassing selloffs.

Drawing on the trend, Nic Carter on X sees the GBTC as the “most cursed financial instrument of all time.” He added a picture with the caption “the world if GBTC never existed,” suggesting that the world would be a better place without GBTC in it. 

These criticisms are coming at a time when Grayscale was once hailed by industry giants as being the main catalyst that made the market welcome spot Bitcoin ETFs at this time.

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Falling Bitcoin Price and Growing Skepticism

Assumably, the events surrounding Grayscale have contributed to the downtrend of Bitcoin price, per the analysis of certain market observers. Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, identified that the recent dip in Bitcoin price is partly attributed to substantial sales of GBTC shares. 

After reaching $46,000 earlier this month, Bitcoin is now trading at $39,829.11 with a 4.62% dip in the last 24 hours. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer is very pessimistic about the chances of Bitcoin picking up from the level it had fallen to. 

Cramer highlighted the discrepancies in having BTC price rise suddenly even before the launch of spot Bitcoin ETF which many thought would be the driver for a new all-time high in its price.

For a cryptocurrency that many proponents had so much faith in, Bitcoin is currently performing less than expected and Grayscale is the culprit they are pointing fingers at. Notably, the Bitcoin price today appears to witnessing a constant price flux near the $40K mark.

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Godfrey Benjamin
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture. Follow him on X, Linkedin
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