Gold ETFs bleed $2.4B so far in 2024 as Bitcoin ETFs hit record volumes

Due to the drop in spot gold prices, leading gold exchange-traded funds have had withdrawals totaling $2.39 billion so far in 2024. Compared to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that monitor the spot price of Bitcoin, Gold ETFs have had billion-dollar withdrawals in 2024.

In 2024, outflows from the top 14 gold ETFs have totaled $2.4 billion, according to a piece published on X by Bloomberg intelligence researcher Eric Balchunas on February 14.

Gold ETF Outflows vs. Bitcoin ETF Inflows

VanEck Merk Gold Shares, FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF, and Proshares UltraShort Gold were the only three with slight inflows in 2024. BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust Micro and iShares Gold Trust saw the most withdrawals, with $230.4 million and $423.6 million leaving, respectively.

On the other hand, preliminary data from Farside indicates that since their inception on January 11, the 10 authorized spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen record volume and cumulative inflows of $3.89 billion.

According to portfolio manager Bitcoin Munger, “Not only is Bitcoin snatching up cash, but gold is hemorrhaging AUM across many ETFs at an alarming rate.”

Balchunas, however, said that he believed “just US equity FOMO” rather than a huge migration of gold ETF investors to Bitcoin ETFs.Pioneer of Bitcoin Jameson Lopp asked about the health of gold investor and Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff while sharing a graphic contrasting the two ETFs.

Comparing Performance: Gold vs. Bitcoin in 2024

This divergence has become more pronounced in 2024 due to declining gold prices. Since the start of the year, the commodity has lost 3.4%, and on February 14 it hit a two-month low of $1,993 per ounce.

In the meantime, the price of Bitcoin has risen by 23.5% within the same time frame, and on February 14 it reached a two-year high of $52,483.

The World Gold Council claimed in a report earlier in February that the weak performance of gold mostly caused by worldwide outflows from gold ETFs and a “reduction in speculative positioning.” The report also added:

“Long-term Treasuries and the US dollar, on the back of strong upside US economic surprises, were also headwinds.”

Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg, projected in January that gold will beat Bitcoin in 2024, but it looks like he was a touch off at the time.Due to their similar qualities as stores of value and their popularity as fallback investments during periods of economic and geopolitical unrest, bitcoin and gold have frequently been compared.