Salim Ramji spoke highly of Bitcoin and blockchain technology when overseeing BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF filing.
Bitcoin ETF Trading Frenzy Continues After Record $673M Net Inflow as BTC Price Nears Record
BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF (IBIT) surpassed $1 billion in trading volume Thursday for the fourth consecutive day.
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Breaks Volume Record as Bitcoin Rallies to $64K Before Plunging
U.S. spot bitcoin {{BTC}} exchange-traded funds (ETF) experienced another massive trading session Wednesday with BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF (IBIT) breaking its volume record for the third consecutive day.
Bitcoin ETF Surges: Last 4 Days Inflows Outpace Initial Weeks
Bitcoin (BTC) Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are currently in the limelight as the products have seen massive net inflows in the past few days than in the initial weeks of introduction, dominating the market of crypto investment products.
Bitcoin ETF Inflows Surges In The Last 4 Days
Thomas Fahrer, the co-founder of Bitcoin tracking platform Apollo, took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share the development with the community. Fahrer pointed out that BTC spot ETFs are presently experiencing a “total acceleration” of inflows.
Meanwhile, the products in the past 4 days have witnessed an inflow of 43,000 BTC tokens valued at $2.3 billion. This latest surge in inflows suggests renewed adoption of the products from crypto players and investors.
Data from Apollo reveals that Grayscale is the leading firm in Assets Under Management (AUM). Registered as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the company boasts a whopping $23.7 billion AUM.
However, this is a notable drop from $28 billion in assets it had on January 11, after transitioning to an ETF. This is due to the daily net outflows the fund has seen since it was approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Blackrock comes in second after Grayscale, with an asset under management of over $5 billion since it started trading. It is followed by Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC) and Ark/21Shares Bitcoin Trust (ARKB), which come in third and fourth place, respectively.
Investment firm Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF (BITB) is the latest company to reach the billion-dollar milestone. As of the press, the company’s BTC ETF is the fifth largest behind the aforementioned asset management companies.
Blackrock Records Its Largest Inflow
On Tuesday, Blackrock recorded its largest inflow day ever since Bitcoin ET products were approved. A senior Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Eric Balchunas, revealed information regarding the update on X.
He stated that Blackrock’s BTC ETF was booming on Tuesday, seeing almost “half a billion” inflow. According to the data shared by Balchunas, IBIT made $493 million in revenue during the trading day.
IBIT’s previous largest daily net inflow was $386 million, recorded on the second trading day of January 12. Consequently, Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF overall inflow exceeded the $5 billion mark after the Tuesday event. So far, of all ETFs, Blackrock’s IBIT leads by “7% by size in just 23 days of trading.”
These developments came in light of the recent rally around Bitcoin in the past few days, which took BTC’s price above $ 50,000. Many market enthusiasts believe that a major factor in the rally is the reason surrounding the BTC ETF flows.
Bitcoin ETF Makes Waves: Volumes Surge $10 Billion 3 Days
Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have once again garnered the attention of crypto enthusiasts and investors as the products have witnessed a whopping $10 billion in total trading volume in the first three days of trading.
Bitcoin Spot ETF Sees Significant Uptick In Day 3 Trading
The development was revealed by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The information shared by the analyst demonstrates a firm desire for exposure to digital assets via regulated financial markets.
Seyffart’s X post delves in on the data from the “Bitcoin ETF Cointucky Derby.” According to the analyst, “ETFs traded almost $10 billion in total over the past 3 days.”
The analyst also provided a virtual record of the data to further elaborate on the substantial trading volume. With a total volume of over $5 billion, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) stands out as the top performer among the notable financial firms.
Meanwhile, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) come next in line. The data shows that the financial firms witnessed an overall trading volume of $1.997 billion and $1.479 billion, respectively.
ARK’s 21Shares ETF (ARKB) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BTTB) followed behind with a substantial total trading volume of $568 million and $258 million, respectively. This spike in trading volume indicates that both institutional and individual investors are growing more at ease utilizing traditional investment engines to trade BTC.
Although Grayscale’s Bitcoin fund continues to gain the highest overall trading volume, the fund has seen significant withdrawals from investors seeking to lower their exposure.
There have been withdrawals totaling more than $579 million since Grayscale started trading on January 11. Currently, Grayscale is still considered the “Liquidity King” of the Bitcoin spot ETFs.
However, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas anticipates that Blackrock might oversee Grayscale to claim the title. “IBIT keeping lead to be one most likely to overtake GBTC as Liquidity King,” he stated.
3-Day Trading Surpassed 500 ETFs In 2023
Following the report, Eric Balchunas has provided a context for the massive surge of these products. The analyst did so by comparing the trading volume of BTC ETFs to all the ETFs that were launched in 2023.
“Let me put into context how insane $10b in volume is in the first 3 days. There were 500 ETFs launched in 2023,” Balchunas stated. According to him, the 500 ETFs completed a $450 million combined volume today, and the best one did $45 million.
In addition, Balchunas highlighted that Blackrock‘s BTC ETF demonstrates a better performance than the 500 ETFs. “IBIT alone is seeing more activity than the entire ’23 Freshman Class,” he stated. It is noteworthy that half of the ETFs launched in 2023 recorded an overall trading volume of “less than $1 million” today.
Balchunas also stressed the difficulty in acquiring volume, noting that it is harder than flows and assets. This is because the volume has to come genuinely in the marketplace, which gives an “ETF lasting power.”
Analyst Predicts $570 Billion Inflow Amid Bitcoin Spot ETF Approval
Scott Melker, a cryptocurrency analyst and advocate has pointed out a massive inflow into Bitcoin following the approval of BTC Spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).
Bitcoin Might Be Poised For $570 Million Inflow
The crypto analyst shared his projections with the entire cryptocurrency community on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Melker proposed that $570 billion could be invested in a Bitcoin ETF, representing just 0.5% of the overall assets managed by Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs).
In the X post, Melker pointed out that the overall assets managed by RIAs are currently valued at $114 trillion. He also highlighted that the total market capitalization of Bitcoin is currently pegged at $860 billion.
The post read:
RIAs manage $114 TRILLION in assets. If a measly half of a percent of that money eventually comes into a #Bitcoin ETF, that would be roughly 570 billion dollars. The entire market cap of $BTC now is $860 BILLION.
Several crypto analyst seems to disagree with Melker’s projections and have shared their opinions on his claims. One of the analysts who has voiced his opinions toward the prediction is top Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.
Eric Balchunas asserted that the RIAs assets valued at $114 trillion “seems really high.” He further added that the total advisor assets are worth around $30 trillion, due to data from market tracker Cerulli.
However, Melker backed up his claims by sharing a data screenshot from Thinkadvisor. Thinkadvisor highlighted that “15,114 fiduciary investment advisors currently manage $114 trillion in assets for 61.9 million clients.”
Another crypto enthusiast who has expressed displeasure with Melker’s inflow prediction is investment advisor Rick Ferri. The advisor challenged Melker noting that his “expectations are overblown.”
Ferri asserted that despite his 35 years of advisory experience, he still doesn’t understand why Melker would make such claims. Additionally, Ferri stressed that if any adviser decides to own BTC, they would have done so through Grayscale Bitcoin (BTC).
BTC Spot ETF To Serve As A Game-Changer For Crypto Market
Melker’s post came in response to Bruce Fenton’s post on how the Bitcoin Spot ETF could be a game-changer for crypto. Fenton predicted a dramatic change in the future while highlighting that several brokers, financial advisors, and RIAs are not knowledgeable about BTC.
According to the crypto investor, financial advisors must “keep up with what the public and customers are talking about.” Additionally, he noted that Bitcoin ought to be included in many portfolios, given its past 10 years of performance and correlation.
He also added that “financial advisors will follow the money and the trends.” Fenton asserted that advisors are not stupid about money and they will be motivated to learn.
Fenton went further to say that large investment firms would spend billions promoting to their clients Bitcoin-based investments. This would lead to chief economists talking about it, public awareness of its importance, and the creation of the best ads.
XRP spike on hoax filing a ‘bad look’ but won’t sway SEC’s ETF approvals
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas doubts the SEC will deny ETFs after XRP’s price spiked on a faked BlackRock XRP trust filing, but it is a “bad look.”
XRP jumps then dumps on faked BlackRock XRP trust filing
XRP’s price surge was short-lived and has almost returned to its original price.
Enter the Ether: VanEck releases two ETF ads ahead of possible Monday launch
Once Ethereum futures ETF and spot Bitcoin ETF applications get approved, there will be a marketing war like we’ve never seen says, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Bitcoin ETFs have 75% chance of approval this year: Bloomberg analysts
Bloomberg ETF analysts raised their odds for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval after the recent Grayscale victory against the SEC.
SEC’s first deadlines to approve 7 Bitcoin ETFs coming over the next week
Analysts say the best-case scenario is the SEC approves the batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs but it may also exercise its right to an appeal.
Bitcoin Futures ETF Exceeds Expectations, Trades $1 Billion On Day One
The numbers are in, and the Bitcoin Futures ETF had the biggest debut of the year. By far. We have to “exclude ETFs where their Day One volume was literally one pre-planned giant investor or BYOA,” but that’s fair. Apparently, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF got to the top naturally, via real trades by real people and institutions. Considering that just its approval by the SEC seemed to catapult Bitcoin’s price to the edge of an All-Time High, a question arises. How will the market react tomorrow? And the day after that?
Related Reading | Bitcoin ETF Check, What’s Next For BTC
But let’s avoid speculation and check Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas’ charts:
If we don't exclude ETFs where their Day One volume was literally one pre-planned giant investor or BYOA (not natural), it still ranks #2 overall. Here's that list. The reason some of these shouldn't be included IMO is they don't really represent grassroots interest. pic.twitter.com/wmZiHnpFrS
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 19, 2021
Considering the first-ever Bitcoin Futures ETF “also traded more than 99.5% of all ETFs,” it’s fair to say the launch was a huge success. What does it mean for the following ETFs? According to Balchunas, it’ll be hard for them to succeed. “Every day counts because once an ETF gets knows as ‘the one’ and has tons of liquidity, it’s virtually imposs to steal.” And, what does this mean for the market in general? NewsBTC already covered this question:
“Although these ETFs have attracted criticism for being backed by futures contracts and not the underlying asset, they could still have big implications for Bitcoin — allowing tax-sheltered and retirement accounts to easily get exposure, and potentially opening the cryptoasset to a much broader audience.”
The NYSE welcomes @ProSharesETF in celebration of the first U.S. Bitcoin-Linked ETF $BITO https://t.co/0qh0NDS2d4
— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) October 19, 2021
Why Is There A Bitcoin Futures ETF Instead Of A Bitcoin ETF?
Who better to answer this question than the SEC’s chairman himself, Gary Gensler told CNBC:
“What you have here is a product that’s been overseen for four years by the U.S. federal regulator CFTC, and that’s being wrapped inside of something within our jurisdiction called the Investment Company Act of 1940, so we have some ability to bring it inside of investor protection.”
So, the Bitcoin Futures ETF falls under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction. Plus, it tracks the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures. And the SEC considers that the institutional support will protect the customer. According to them, the underlying asset, Bitcoin, is too volatile and subject to manipulation.
The first persons to propose a Bitcoin ETF in the USA, the Winklevoss twins, lament that when they did the price of Bitcoin was $68 and nowadays is $64K. “That’s almost a 1000x return in the meantime. I’m glad we got here, but it has taken too long.”
When @cameron and I first proposed a bitcoin ETF in July 2013, the price of bitcoin was $68.
Today, upon the launch of two bitcoin futures ETFs, the price of bitcoin is $64,000.
That's almost a 1000x return in the meantime. I'm glad we got here, but it has taken too long.
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) October 19, 2021
Also a skeptic of the Bitcoin Futures ETF‘s long term potential, Anthony Bertolino, VP of growth at iTrustCapital, told CNBC:
“The launch of the first bitcoin-linked ETF in the U.S. will bolster the broader crypto market and help an entirely new investor class experience the benefits of bitcoin as a legitimate asset. However, a derivatives-based bitcoin ETF is not where we want to be long-term.”
BTC price chart for 10/20/2021 on Forexcom | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Are The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF’s Characteristics?
The next few days will be crucial for this story. There’s a possibility that today’s demand was orchestrated, at least in part. If this happened, it’ll be very obvious in the following days. In any case, the fund’s official site defines the first Bitcoin Futures ETF as:
“ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) is the first U.S. bitcoin-linked ETF offering investors an opportunity to gain exposure to bitcoin returns in a convenient, liquid and transparent way. The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation primarily through managed exposure to bitcoin futures contracts.”
Related Reading | Grayscale Investments Set to File for Bitcoin Spot ETF as Competition Heats Up
And alerts the clients that “The fund does not invest directly in bitcoin,” and that “The price and performance of bitcoin futures should be expected to differ from the current “spot” price of bitcoin.” Forewarned is forearmed.
Featured Image: Screenshot of the ETF’s opening bell ceremony| Charts by TradingView
New tickers and ARK filing shows Bitcoin futures ETF approval imminent: Analyst
According to Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas there are “good signs” that the SEC will approve Bitcoin futures ETF applications from Ark Invest and Valkyrie.
