Investors who recently purchased shares in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have encountered a familiar sense of irritation that many cryptocurrency investors experience — the tendency for the price of bitcoin to drop just after making a purchase. Numerous Reddit discussions are filled with accounts of this shared experience. In this exceptional instance, notable financial institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck—once heralded as catalysts for Bitcoin’s surge—along with various others, collectively purchased a staggering 95,300 BTC, valued at $3.8 billion, over a span of six days. Despite these significant acquisitions, the price of Bitcoin unexpectedly decreased by almost 20%. The specifics regarding whether this vast amount of Bitcoin was procured via direct purchases on the Coinbase platform, through intermediary agents, or over-the-counter trading remains unclear. Regardless of the circumstances, the recent sell-off in bitcoin underscores that the mere concept of Wall Street firms investing in bitcoin has a greater impact than when they actually do. Evidently, even the major players in the conventional financial sector remain minor participants in the vast bitcoin market. Up to this point, any positive impact on the value of bitcoin from Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) occurred before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave its nod of approval. The demand generated by these funds has evidently been overtaken by selling activity. Notably, from the time BlackRock filed for their ETF in June until the actual rollout of these funds in January, bitcoin experienced a surge in price by as much as 80%, climbing from $27,000 to $49,414. Despite not being a direct path, welcome to the world of Bitcoin at the number 11. The positive sentiment surrounding Blackrock and various other investors pouring billions into bitcoin has unfortunately been overshadowed by the substantial amounts of bitcoin exiting Grayscale’s bitcoin trust (GBTC), which has currently transitioned into a spot ETF. Spot ETFs are investment vehicles that purchase and maintain bitcoin for their investors. Increased net inflows lead to a greater amount of bitcoin being removed from circulation, which, in turn, can decrease the available supply and potentially drive up the price if demand remains strong. GBTC experienced a withdrawal of $2.8 billion worth of bitcoin as $3.95 billion was directed into a range of new spot ETFs that boast lower management costs. However, it’s unclear to what extent this movement of funds constitutes the recycling of the same investment capital. Nevertheless, the declining value of bitcoin has been attributed, to some extent, to those who exchanged their GBTC shares for bitcoin and then proceeded to sell it. If this is the case, then the substantial liquidations worth hundreds of millions in recent days are merely unintentional casualties of a dispute over fees on Wall Street. Explore further in our opinion section: The truth is, Bitcoin ETFs have never truly been significant.