Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Make a Huge Impact on Wall Street: $4.5 Billion Transacted on First Day!
The first day of trading for multiple Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw an impressive start to the cryptocurrency market, with a total trading volume surpassing $4.5 billion across ten spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Leading the pack was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which recorded a trading volume of $1 billion, accounting for 22% of the total volume among the listed funds. Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) followed closely behind, with a trading volume of around $685 million, indicating a significant surge in investor interest.
But it wasn’t just BlackRock that achieved high rankings. Other ETFs, such as $BITO and $GBTC, also made it into the top 10 among overall ETFs in terms of trading volume. Additionally, $IBIT and $FBTC secured spots in the top 25, demonstrating the considerable impact of these ETFs. In comparison, Ethereum futures ETFs only managed to generate $2 million in trading volume.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) made a mark with a total volume of $2.2 billion, largely attributed to the conversion of its pre-existing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. ProShares Futures Bitcoin ETF (BITO) also made waves, setting records with a trading activity exceeding $2 billion, according to Yahoo data.
Analysts, including James Seyffar from Bloomberg, suggested that a significant portion of GBTC’s trading volume may involve selling, as investors transition to more cost-effective options like BlackRock’s and Fidelity’s ETFs.
Unfortunately, Hashdex missed the opportunity to be listed among spot Bitcoin ETFs due to the SEC’s approval of its 19b-4 filing, resulting in the fund trading as a futures-based ETF without any spot Bitcoin holdings.
On the first day of spot Bitcoin ETFs’ launch, there were a staggering 700,000 individual transactions, amounting to a total volume of $4.33 billion. Notable figures include GBTC at $2.09 billion, IBIT at $1.01 billion, FBTC at $673 million, and ARKB at $673 million.
BITO contributed $1.87 billion in trading volume, leading investment manager Timothy Peterson to estimate that approximately 47,000 Bitcoin, valued at $2.1 billion at current prices, would need to be purchased on the spot market to accommodate the substantial buying activity across these ETFs.
The significant trading volume of the ProShares Futures Bitcoin ETF, surpassing $2 billion, signifies a notable shift in the market from futures-based Bitcoin exposure to more cost-effective and less volatile spot-based exposure.
Despite the excitement and substantial trading volumes, it may take some time to see the actual impact of these ETFs on underlying Bitcoin purchases. In the coming days, a clearer understanding of spot inflows will emerge.