BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is poised to overtake the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) before the month concludes, as forecasted by analysts.

"GBTC currently maintains a $2.3 billion lead," shared Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas on Twitter. "While a significant surge in BTC value could potentially delay this, I anticipate April 30th as a reasonable milestone."

To provide context, just a week ago, the disparity between the two prominent spot Bitcoin ETFs—both leading entities in the U.S.—was approximately $4 billion. BlackRock's IBIT has long been positioned as the challenger to Grayscale's established fund, a narrative that has persisted since its inception.

GBTC, inaugurated in 2013, was initially exclusive to accredited and institutional investors. By November 2021, the fund witnessed its assets under management soar to over $43 billion. However, the subsequent year saw a significant downturn in the fund's AUM, plunging to below $10 billion amidst widespread upheaval in crypto markets.

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted approval for the conversion of GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, with the fund holding assets worth $28.6 billion at the time. However, GBTC has experienced a decline in AUM to $19.5 billion as investors shifted towards competing ETFs offering lower fees.

Earlier this month, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein attributed this decline to sell-offs linked to the bankruptcies of FTX and other crypto firms, indicating that GBTC served as collateral within some of the bankruptcy estates across the crypto ecosystem. Sonnenshein emphasized that this phase is predominantly in the past.

It's noteworthy that the valuation of Grayscale's assets under management fluctuates with Bitcoin prices. Despite a recent cooldown in Bitcoin's value following a record high last month, BTC has appreciated by 35% since January 11.

At present, BTC is trading slightly above $63,000. However, this downturn post-setting a new all-time high has prompted three consecutive days of outflows for Bitcoin ETFs. Approximately $58 million worth of shares were redeemed yesterday, bringing the total outflow over the past three days to $149 million, according to Coinglass.

Bitcoin traders are keenly observing the upcoming halving event and its potential impact on the markets. The Bitcoin halving, which reduces the reward for Bitcoin miners from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, is slated to occur late on Friday, April 19. This shift in timing has disappointed some enthusiasts who were anticipating celebrating Bitcoin and marijuana on the same day, coinciding with the popular observance of 4/20.