25 Oct 2021
Record-breaking demand for the first U.S. Bitcoin ETF
The futures-based BTC ETFs have been a massive success in their first week of trading, accruing more than $1 billion worth of assets at a record-breaking pace.
Last Tuesday was a historic day for bitcoin with the first U.S. BTC-linked ETF launch after 8 years of unsuccessful attempts as ProShares’ futures-based BITO ETF hit the market.
The ETF launch was, by all accounts, a very popular launch. On its first trading day, the ETF reached a trading volume of $1 billion, and after two days, the fund surpassed $1 billion in assets. No other ETF has exceeded the $1 billion AUM milestone faster, and the previous record was held by SPDR Gold Shares, which hit the milestone three days after its debut in November 2004.
On Friday, Valkyrie’s ETF (BTF) launched, and while the launch was less extreme than the BITO launch in terms of turnover, its $80 million trade volume on day 1 made the ETF the 15th most successful ETF launch in history out of 3,500 launches.
New futures-based ETFs are set to launch shortly. VanEck’s pending Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ticker XBTF) is expected to launch this week. This ETF will carry a management fee of 0.65%, undercutting the 0.95% expense ratio carried by BITO and BTF.
The massive turnovers and inflows to these ETFs highlight the high demand for BTC exposure. While futures-based ETFs involve rolling costs and contract count hurdles, they’ve still seen massive demands. November 14th is the SEC’s final deadline to provide a verdict on VanEck’s spot-based ETF.