Bitcoin ETFs Take Wall Street by Storm: $4.5 Billion Traded on Debut Day!

The cryptocurrency market kicked off with a bang on the first day of trading for multiple Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), witnessing an impressive total trading volume exceeding $4.5 billion across ten spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) took the lead with an impressive $1 billion in trading volume, representing 22% of the total volume traded among the listed funds. Following closely was Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF (FBTC), gathering around $685 million in day one trading volume, signaling a notable surge in investor interest.

Exciting times indeed! But BlackRock wasn’t the only one to rank high! Here’s a deep dive.

Grayscale Makes a Mark

Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) saw an impressive $2.2 billion in total volume, reflecting the conversion of its pre-existing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. ProShares Futures Bitcoin ETF (BITO) also made waves, breaking records with a total trading activity exceeding $2 billion, according to Yahoo data.

Bloomberg Analysts, including James Seyffar, suggested that a significant portion of GBTC’s trading volume might involve selling, with investors possibly transitioning to more cost-effective options like BlackRock’s and Fidelity’s ETFs.

Hashdex, unfortunately, missed the ETF train, losing a prime 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.

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700K ETF Transactions, $4.33B Volume—What’s Next?

On the first day of spot Bitcoin ETFs’ launch, Bloomberg ETF analysts, including Eric Balchunas, reported a staggering 700,000 individual transactions, totaling $4.33 billion. Breakdown figures included 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. Timothy Peterson, an investment manager at Cane Macro, estimated that the substantial buying activity across these ETFs would necessitate the purchase of approximately 47,000 Bitcoin, valued at $2.1 billion at current prices, on the spot market.

The Shift from Futures to Spots

The ProShares Futures Bitcoin ETF’s significant trading volume exceeding $2 billion signals a notable market transition from futures-based Bitcoin exposure to more economical and less volatile spot-based exposure.

Despite the enthusiasm and substantial trading volumes, the actual impact of these ETFs on underlying Bitcoin purchases may take some time to materialize, offering a clearer understanding of spot inflows in the coming days.