Bitcoin Exchange Balances Hit 4-Year Low as Spot ETFs Surge Amidst Historic Options Expiry

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Bitcoin balances on cryptocurrency exchanges have plunged to their lowest levels since 2018. Furthermore, the largest Bitcoin options expiry in history has had a negligible effect on the price thus far. Spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now account for 2.5% of the circulating supply after less than three months of trading.

Crypto exchanges have observed nearly $10 billion worth of Bitcoin outflows this year following the endorsement of spot exchange-traded funds in the United States. According to Glassnode data, exchange balances have declined by more than 136,000 BTC since Jan. 11, when the spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading. The trend shows no signs of abating, with Glassnode data revealing more than 22,000 BTC was withdrawn from exchanges on March 27 — the third-highest daily withdrawal of the year.

Despite the market experiencing the biggest quarterly Bitcoin futures options expiry event in history, the Bitcoin price remained above the $69,000 mark on March 29. Over $15.1 billion worth of cryptocurrency futures options expired on Deribit on March 29 at 8:00 am UTC, according to a March 28 post by Deribit.

New spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated over 500,000 Bitcoin since launching in January, accounting for 2.54% of the current circulating supply. The nine ETFs that launched on Jan. 11 hit the milestone following another day of inflows on Thursday, which saw the ETFs scoop up $287.7 million in net Bitcoin, according to Farside Investors.

In a surprising turn of events, SBF has been handed a 25-year prison sentence in a U.S. federal court. According to Judge Lewis Kaplan, SBF will serve 240 months and 60 months for his conviction on seven felony charges. He was also found guilty of tampering based on the events that led to Kaplan revoking his bail in August 2023.

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