The cryptocurrency market has recently witnessed a surge in trading activity following the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
On a single day, these ETFs saw a staggering 700,000 individual trades, as reported by industry analyst Eric Balchunas.
Grayscale and BlackRock in the lead
This number is notably double the trades of the Nasdaq's QQQ, a popular stock market index ETF. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin price experienced a sharp decline, dropping over 7% to $45,644 before paring some losses.
On the first day of trading, the Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a combined volume that was just shy of $4.7 billion, indicating strong investor interest in the hotly anticipated financial instruments.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust BTC (GBTC) led with an impressive $2.3 billion traded, capturing over half of the market's activity at 50.1%. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) followed with a substantial $1.03 billion, securing a 22.3% slice of the total volume. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) also made a notable entrance with $712.7 million in trades, accounting for 15.3% of the market.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) contributed $289.1 million, representing 6.2% of the total volume.
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and other smaller funds, including Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR), VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW), and Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF (DEFI), rounded out the rest of the volume, each drawing less than 2.7% of the total trades.
Varied responses from financial institutions
The trading volumes show a strong retail interest, but institutional responses have been mixed. JPMorgan, despite being named an authorized participant in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, reportedly issued warnings against purchasing the ETF, hinting at internal conflicts regarding Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, investment behemoth Vanguard has blocked clientele from purchasing Bitcoin ETFs.
Yuri Molchan
Tomiwabold Olajide
Godfrey Benjamin
