Spot bitcoin ETFs generated trading volumes of around $10 billion in their first three days on the market, with Grayscale Investments and BlackRock funds continuing to lead competitors in the category.
Grayscale’s newly converted Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) generated trading volumes Tuesday of about 25 million shares, or $970 million, a Blockworks review of Yahoo Finance data found.
This came after GBTC trading volumes reached about $2.3 billion and $1.8 billion on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
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High trading volumes for GBTC do not indicate a net outflow of funds. It saw net outflows of $579 million last week, as shown in a CoinShares report released on Monday. Recently, GBTC was converted to an ETF format. Although it was recently converted into an ETF, the fund was launched in 2013 and has approximately $27 billion in assets under management.
Sector observers told Blockworks last week that they expect GBTC to see outflows over time, in part due to its higher fees compared to competitors, at 1.5%.
Read more: First-week inflows from Bitcoin ETFs delayed 2021 BTC futures launch: CoinShares
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw trading volume reach nearly 15 million shares, or roughly $370 million, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, there were about 8.2 million shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) — worth about $310 million — traded hands on the day.
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a post on X that BlackRock’s IBIT was on track to become the fund “most likely to exceed… GBTC as the liquidity king.”
Industry observers have described liquidity — tighter bid-ask spreads and the ability to take larger trades without a significant impact on prices — as a key factor some investors may weigh when deciding which bitcoin ETF to buy.
Trading volume for a spot Bitcoin ETF from Ark Invest and 21Shares, as well as one from rival Bitwise, on Tuesday was about $124 million and $52 million, respectively.
Other similar offers from Invesco, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie and WisdomTree each were worth $10 million or less.
Bitwise initially led net inflows for spot bitcoin ETFs. However, BlackRock and Fidelity, traditional finance giants, overtook the cryptocurrency-focused company after the second day, Bloomberg Intelligence data indicated.
Initial trading volumes reflect pent-up demand, 21Shares President Ophelia Snyder told Blockworks, noting that she expects “a second wave of activity in the coming weeks and months as this becomes more widespread.”
Read more: 21Shares CEO Says Short-Term View on Spot Bitcoin ETFs ‘Wrong’
The focus on short-term flows in such funds is “crazy short-sighted and very much not the point,” she added.
“It’s going to increase over time,” Snyder said. “So I think the short-term view is wrong.”
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