Latest news: during its first day, the trading volume of spot Bitcoin ETFs exceeds the threshold of 4.5 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Grayscale proudly announces to be the pioneer in launching the first spot Bitcoin ETF that will soon be available for trading.
Let’s see below all the details.
News: Immediate Impact on Trading Volume of Bitcoin Spot ETFs
As anticipated, after obtaining approval on Wednesday, the trading volume of Spot Bitcoin ETFs quickly exceeded 4.5 billion dollars on the first day.
In the first hour alone, in fact, transactions for the new ETF reached an impressive value of 1.74 billion dollars.
Following Wednesday’s approvals, Thursday morning marked the official start of trading for the Bitcoin Spot ETFs.
Eleven asset management companies, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have promptly prepared their ETFs for trading immediately after approval.
Currently, the trading volume for these products has exceeded Bloomberg’s forecasts, which were set at 4 billion dollars.
The introduction of investment vehicles supported by so many prestigious asset management companies has attracted a significant influx of new investors in the sector.
Hopes were high for the first hours of trading, with particular attention to the performance of iShares Bitcoin Trust by BlackRock.
Thanks to increasing investments in Bitcoin ETFs, the overall trading volume on Bitcoin has increased by almost 10% in the last 24 hours.
In addition, the main cryptocurrency has recorded a constant upward trend, with a significant peak of over 48,000 dollars shortly after the markets opened.
The forecast is that Bitcoin will continue to rise, especially as it approaches the next halving and with the increasing interest from banking clients towards Bitcoin ETFs.
Vanguard’s decision: no entry into the Bitcoin ETF market
The asset management company Vanguard, with assets worth 7.7 trillion dollars, has announced that it will not enter the market of spot Bitcoin ETFs, emphasizing its cautiously distant position from cryptocurrencies.
Not only did it refuse to offer such products prior to approval, but it is also actively preventing its customers from participating in trading the newly approved Bitcoin ETFs.
Before approval, Vanguard had already stated that it had no intention of entering the market of spot Bitcoin ETFs, defining the investment case for digital assets as “weak”.
This decision clashes with the trend reversal of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which recently approved 11 Bitcoin Spot ETFs, opening a new era in the industry.
While many asset management companies, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have embraced the opportunity by issuing their own Bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard stands out for its restrictive position.
The company justified its choice by emphasizing the lack of intrinsic economic value in cryptocurrencies, the lack of cash flows, and the high volatility.
Elements that contrast with its objective of generating long-term positive real returns for investors.
While the sector is witnessing a flurry of activity, Vanguard remains faithful to its position, despite the expected success of other industry giants in achieving record fund inflows.
Cutting-edge grayscale: GBTC is the first approved spot Bitcoin ETF
Grayscale, the manager of GBTC, boasts of being the first among spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to have recently obtained approval to officially enter the market, as announced by a company representative on Thursday.
Jennifer Rosenthal, communications manager at Grayscale, stated via email:
“I am pleased to confirm that GBTC has started pre-market trading at 4 am this morning.”
The transformation of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, with a value of $27 billion, into an ETF was finally approved on Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This approval, one of the first to be granted by the United States market regulatory authority, represents a historic milestone for the cryptocurrency industry.
GBTC, which has a pre-trading price of $40,496 on NYSE Arca, has a significantly higher commission compared to its competitors.
In fact, this charges investors 1.5%, while the competition ranges from 0.2% to 0.9%.
It seems that Grayscale is capitalizing on the initial advantage derived from its $27 billion in assets, giving it a prominent competitive position in the industry.