KEY POINTS
- iShares Bitcoin Fund recorded over $1.8 billion in trading volume in just three days
- BlackRock dominates the race among newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs
- Bitcoin was trading at $42,702.36 at 3:20 a.m. ET on Wednesday
The iShares Bitcoin Trust, a recent addition to the cryptocurrency investment landscape managed by BlackRock, swiftly took a leading position in the Bitcoin ETF market and achieved an impressive milestone after three days of trading in U.S. exchanges. It recorded over $1.8 billion in trading volume.
As the race among the newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs continues, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) garnered a significant trading volume on the third day of trading, which might herald it as the largest Bitcoin holder.
Senior Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the trading volume garnered by the newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in the first three trading days is impressive, recording over $500 million, which mirrored the trajectory of decline seen in ProShares' BITO, which holds the record for the most successful organic launch in the history of exchange-traded funds.
The analyst also noted how IBIT maintained its dominance in the sector and could surpass Grayscale's GBTC as the current primary liquidity provider in the ETF space.
"Day Three volume so far half a billion for the Newborn Nine which is healthy, about the same pattern dropoff rate as BITO (which again was the most successful organic launch in ETF history). IBIT keeping lead to be one most likely to overtake GBTC as Liquidity King," Balchunas wrote on X.
note: Day Two Volume refreshed weird (didn't mess up Day Three so leaving up original tweet bc that was the focus) but Day Two fixed, also added % prem for someone who asked. BITB flows on Day Two weren't $0 but BONY is having problems sending data correctly as we get it sent… pic.twitter.com/DUfoGnKLAR
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 16, 2024
The achievements of the recently introduced Bitcoin ETFs, when compared to the debut of ProShares' BITO ETF, signal a maturing market, which is becoming more open to cryptocurrency as a viable investment option.
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved IBIT as one of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the country last week, BlackRock dropped an advertisement, declaring it as "a new day" for the crypto asset.
In the commercial, Jay Jacobs, BlackRock's U.S. head of Thematics and Active Equity ETFs, talks about the convenience and simplicity of investing in IBIT, while pointing out how multiple investors and institutions perceive Bitcoin as a promising catalyst for transforming the global movement of money.
"The calm disposition, easy to understand investment case, soft new age music, suit with no tie.. everything about it says 'it's ok now, the adults are here,'" Balchunas said after highlighting the textbook example of how to market to "rich boomers."
This is how you market to rich boomers, folks. The calm disposition, easy to understand inv case, soft new age music, suit with no tie.. everything about it says “it’s ok now, the adults are here” https://t.co/LmI2Ydy9rM
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 14, 2024
While BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust is dominating the BTC ETF race, Bitcoin was trading at $42,702.36 as of 3:20 a.m. ET on Wednesday, with a 24-hour trading volume of $24,301,199,937.
The crypto asset's latest price action represents a 0.13% dip in its value for the day and a 6.70% loss in the last seven days.
Bitcoin's current circulating supply stands at 19,600,637 BTC and its market capitalization is at $836,496,083,597, data from CoinMarketCap shows.
