In a remarkable turn of events, March witnessed a substantial surge in trading volume for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), reaching an impressive $111 billion.
This surge, nearly three times higher than the volume recorded in February, underscores the sustained interest of investors in Bitcoin (BTC).
Data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas revealed that spot Bitcoin ETF trading volume experienced a significant uptick in March, compared to the previous month. February marked the first full month of trading for Bitcoin investment products following their market debut on Jan. 11, making March’s robust performance even more noteworthy.
On 18th March ETFs recorded a staggering $154 million in net outflows, marking a significant departure from the trend of sustained inflows witnessed in recent weeks.
BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF
Leading the pack in terms of trading volume is BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, followed closely by Grayscale’s GBTC and Fidelity’s FBTC. Balchunas highlighted IBIT’s dominance, noting its market share surpassing that of GBTC, cementing its position as the “GLD of Bitcoin.”
However, April 1 saw net outflows totaling $86 million across cumulative spot Bitcoin ETFs, according to data from Farside Investors. Despite IBIT’s strong inflows of $165.9 million, it was overshadowed by Grayscale’s $302.6 million in outflows.
Fidelity’s FBTC recorded significant inflows of $44 million, while ARK Invest 21Shares ETF ARKB witnessed its first outflows since trading commenced on Jan. 11.
BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETFs have been particularly successful, reaching approximately $18 billion and $10 billion, respectively, in assets under management last month. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC experienced substantial outflows totaling over $15 billion, resulting in a significant decline in assets under management to $22 million.
The rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs has had a transformative impact on BTC markets, contributing to a surge in prices to new all-time highs in March.
With the success of these ETFs combined with the upcoming Bitcoin supply halving, market participants anticipate a new cycle of growth and opportunity in the cryptocurrency landscape.