US bitcoin ETFs make splash in debut, marking crypto milestone

The long-awaited launch of the first United States exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing directly in Bitcoin has finally taken place. This event has been marked as a significant milestone in the digital-asset industries over a decade-long campaign for recognition and mainstream acceptance. The nearly a dozen ETFs come from investment heavyweights like BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments.

On the first day of trading, approximately US$4.6 billion of shares were traded, with industry supporters seeing the ETFs as a catalyst for further gains and broader adoption by everyday investors. No matter where you look, it’s superseded expectations, said Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

In the day’s trading, Bitcoin’s value surged past US$49,000 before settling back to US$46,075 as of 9.30pm in New York. Other major tokens had mixed results as speculators evaluated the outlook.

Trading records were set with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust seeing the largest-ever first-day turnover for an ETF, with US$2.3 billion changing hands. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, saw US$1 billion change hands, marking it as the fifth-largest ETF launch on record.

The success of the ETFs hinges on investors being able to access them easily. While some brokerage firms, such as Vanguard Group Inc., are not offering trading in the ETFs, others like Charles Schwab and Robinhood Markets Inc. are eager to list the funds on their platforms.

In the days leading up to the approval of the ETFs, issuers including BlackRock, Ark Investment Management and Invesco they reduced their costs, igniting a fee war in the US$8 trillion ETF arena.

Looking ahead, the next stage of Wall Street’s adoption of Bitcoin could be the approval of options tied to these ETFs, a move anticipated by Cboe Global Markets Inc. to take place later in 2024.

Reflecting on an eventful day, Todd Sohn, an ETF strategist at Strategas, said, Historic feels like the right description. Now the real work begins to see who has staying power, reported Bangkok Post.