Spot Bitcoin ETF trading volume breaks above $4 billion on first day

The newly approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs amassed over $4 billion in trading volume on their first day, with Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity Investments accounting for the majority of the volume.

The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 11 after years of rejections due to market manipulation concerns, allowing institutions to gain exposure to the flagship crypto for the first time.

Initial trading volume points to an optimistic future for Bitcoin, which has held steady despite many claiming the approval to be a “sell the news” event.

BlackRock leads new capital inflows

Industry leaders BlackRock and Fidelity Investment’s ETFs demonstrated a robust first day. The two ETFs recorded $942 million and $628 million in trading volume, respectively.

They also accounted for the vast majority of early and daily trading volume, particularly in terms of new capital inflows. The inflows into the ten new ETFs — excluding GBTC — will directly go toward buying more Bitcoin.

Grayscale‘s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), now converted into an ETF, led the pack in terms of trading volume with approximately $1.9 billion. However, it remains unclear how much of this volume represents new capital inflows, given its status as a converted fund.

Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas speculated that the majority of Grayscale’s trading volume could represent selling activity, a contrast to the likely inflow of fresh capital for the newly launched BlackRock and Fidelity funds.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF recorded $148 million in trading volume, while other new entrants like those from Franklin Templeton and Valkyrie registered less than $10 million each during the initial hours.

“Unreal numbers”

Spot BTC ETFs, which allow investors to speculate on Bitcoin’s price without directly owning the digital currency, are expected to attract significant capital inflow in the coming weeks.

Balchunas described the trading volumes as “unreal first-day numbers.” Meanwhile, analyst James Seyffart suggested that these volumes were largely driven by capital inflows, with Grayscale’s GBTC being a notable exception.

Coinbase’s over-the-counter (OTC) Bitcoin trading volume hit $7.7 billion on Jan. 11, marking a historic high. This surge aligns with a significant increase in crypto exchange trading volumes, which reached $52 billion, a peak not seen since March 2023.

Standard Chartered Bank recently predicted that these ETFs could bring $50 billion to $100 billion to Bitcoin during 2024. The lender said these new inflows, combined with the halving, could push BTC to $200,000 by the end of 2025.

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