First approved ProShares Bitcoin Futures exchange traded fund (ETF) saw a record trading volume exceeding $1 billion on its opening day on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Oct 19, making it the second largest ETF launch by first day trading volume, dwarfed only by the BlackRock US Carbon Transition Readiness ETF. The first of many ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF is future based rather than spot and trades under the ticker symbol BITO.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas correctly predicted earlier that the first approved Bitcoin ETF had a “legit shot at $1B and top spot”. ProShares BITO started from $40 and rose to $41.94 at the close, showing an appreciation of 4.9%. Bitcoin (BTC) itself is having a ride on the news, the largest marketcap crypto-asset is currently changing hands on $64,858, up 15.6% over the past week and establishing a new all time high from the previous $64,800 figure.
BIG NUMBERS: $BITO has traded $280m worth of shares in first 20min. That already puts it in Top 15 opening day launches of all-time, more than $GLD & $QQQ. $ARKX & $BUZZ were two from this year that made list. It has legit shot at $1b and top spot. We'll see, via @tpsarofagis pic.twitter.com/DgjPA42TnB
There are couple of other Bitcoin ETFs likely to be approved soon, showing that the traditional market has an appetite for cryptocurrency exchange traded funds. This is likely to bring fresh money into the $2.6 trillion + crypto market and several other crypto-assets might have their own ETFs approved soon, after this new precedent. However, there are concerns that a futures based ETF isn’t the most optimal and several financial services providers are now working towards getting a spot based ETF approved.
About Bitcoin ETF
The Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment channel that traces the administration of a special asset or collection of assets. ETFs enable investors to increase their investments without really buying the underlying asset. For those people looking to concentrate only on profits and losses, ETFs give a more manageable option to purchasing and exchanging personal assets.
Further, many traditional ETFs target more open boxes of signatures with something in common such as a focus on sustainability, for example, or assets describing any industry and associated companies, they enable investors to quickly increase their holdings.
Bitcoin ETF can enable fresh money to enter from the traditional finance space, since it reduces the entry barriers by allowing people to invest in this space through platforms and products, they are already familiar with. It exists on stock exchanges, allowing investors to access liquidity. The investors can also be certain about the tax implications and regulatory protection.
