In December, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States acquired approximately 51,500 BTC, significantly overshadowing the 13,850 new coins produced by miners during the month. This intense demand from ETFs, driven partly by the spot market where Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $108,135 on December 17, led to a 272% increase in accumulation over supply.
Market dynamics highlighted a severe supply-demand imbalance. Jesse Myers, co-founder of Onramp Bitcoin, emphasized the urgency to restore equilibrium as insufficient supply at current prices failed to meet the escalating demand. Meanwhile, crypto researcher ‘Vivek’ predicted an incoming supply shock after noting declining exchange balances.
The aggressive acquisition continued into January, with initial data showing over $900 million in Bitcoin inflows on January 3, and projections anticipated nearly $1 billion by January 6.
Notably, major mining companies released their December production figures. Marathon Digital reported 9,457 BTC mined, while Riot increased its output by 4% to 516 BTC. Cleanspark mined 668 coins, Core Scientific produced 291 Bitcoin, Bitfarms reported 211, Terawulf earned 158 self-mined Bitcoin, and cloud mining provider BitFuFu produced 111 coins.
