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Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund issuers accumulated an additional 10,667 Bitcoin (BTC) to their holdings by the fifth trading day, paralleling an uptick in trading volumes.
According to data from the X account CC15Capital Bitcoin worth approximately $440 million was acquired by funds taking part in recent ETF approval. BlackRock’s ETF made the most considerable purchase with 8,700 BTC on Jan. 17, valued at nearly $358 million.
Collectively, nine ETFs, excluding Grayscale, have amassed close to 68,500 BTC since their inception, now valued at around $2.8 billion.
The recent acquisitions of Bitcoin by various ETFs have been counterbalanced by ongoing withdrawals from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with the removal of about 10,824 BTC, equivalent to roughly $445 million, from GBTC. Since its transition to a spot ETF on Jan. 11, GBTC has seen an outflow of nearly 38,000 BTC.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has coined the term ‘Newborn Nine’ for nine of the ten newly approved Bitcoin ETFs’, competitors that are attracting investment away from the first-mover Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). These funds witnessed a 34% increase in daily trading volume by the fifth day, defying the typical post-launch pattern of decreasing volumes.
This is interesting, the Newborn Nine actually saw a 34% jump in volume today vs yesterday. Normally with a hyped up launch you see volume steadily decrease each day post-launch, rare to see it reverse back up. All but one saw jump too but GBTC change flat so wasn't a volatility… pic.twitter.com/f6xOsLRWjr
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 18, 2024However, it is important to note that there is a delay in reporting Bitcoin purchases by ETF managers due to the settlement period of transactions, which might affect the immediacy of data.
Both BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs have shown robust investor interest, surpassing $1 billion in assets under management each as of Jan. 18, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.
Rachel Aguirre, Head of U.S. iShares Product at BlackRock, discussed the strong interest in their new spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, in a recent interview with Bloomberg TV. She noted diverse engagement from investors, including retail and self-directed types, with some ready to invest from the beginning.
Further, Balchunas observed that the BlackRock and Fidelity Bitcoin ETFs are among the top five U.S. ETFs for weekly capital inflows, following closely behind the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF.
Bitwise, another asset manager, reported an addition of 491 BTC on Jan. 18, as per CEO Hunter Horsley’s post on X.
The rise in ETF popularity has coincided with a drop in overall cryptocurrency market capitalization and a surge in ETF inflows. This trend underscores a growing inclination towards ETFs as a preferred investment vehicle in the cryptocurrency space.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price has declined by 3.6% over the past 24 hours, trading at $41,245, and has seen a 10% fall over the week.
BTC 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap
