Bitcoin ETF Debut: Grayscale and BlackRock Lead Volume Rankings

The long-anticipated approval of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in the United States became a reality on Wednesday, marking the commencement of trading on Thursday. This significant development saw the introduction of 11 newly-launched Bitcoin ETFs, generating substantial trading volumes on their debut.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an established player in the crypto investment landscape since 2013 but in a less favorable format, emerged as the leader in terms of trading volume. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart provided insights, revealing that GBTC achieved an impressive volume of $2.3 billion.

Following closely in the rankings was BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), securing the second position with a noteworthy trading volume of $1 billion, as per Seyffart's analysis. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) claimed the third spot with a substantial trading volume of $712 million. Cumulatively, the trading volume for all 11 ETFs surpassed an impressive $4.6 billion on their inaugural day.

Here's the #Bitcoin ETF Cointucky Derby data via trading volume on day 1 (more volume will continue for a little while).

Total Volume was over $4.6 Billion with $GBTC about half of it. BlackRock & Fidelity went 1 & 2 absent GBTC. pic.twitter.com/t70MzyQfZW

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 11, 2024

While Grayscale's GBTC dominated the volume charts, analysts, including Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg, speculated that this could be attributed to existing investors selling shares. GBTC, the world's largest bitcoin investment fund, underwent a conversion into an ETF from a closed-end structure following the regulatory approval on Wednesday.

Re what all these dollars flying around means. For the 10 fresh ETFs volume = buying btc today. Clear cut. But, GBTC volume prob ALL selling and maybe $BITO has some too so likely a lot offsetting going on. Just my take tho, not 100%, we'll know more when flows hit tonight

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 11, 2024

In contrast, the trading volume for the 10 newly introduced ETFs primarily originated from buyers, according to Balchunas. Drawing a comparison, ProShares' futures-based bitcoin ETF (BITO) achieved a $1 billion volume on its first day in October 2021. Balchunas also pointed out that the largest-ever first-day volume for an individual ETF launch was $2.1 billion.

Who knows what will happen today, and we don't want to mess with our recent prediction win re approval but we watching to see if $IBIT will break all-time day one flow/volume record of $2.1b (curr held by another blk ETF) and if the 11 of them as gp can get near/over $4b. pic.twitter.com/uVApgQdUk2

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 11, 2024

The approval of Bitcoin ETFs that can directly hold the underlying asset, as opposed to the bitcoin futures ETFs like BITO approved in 2021, represents a significant milestone in the U.S. after a decade-long struggle for regulatory approval. Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a surge, surpassing $49,000 and hitting a fresh two-year high on the day of the ETF trading debut, only to experience a subsequent decline to $46,000.

Read More: Grayscale Unleashes Heavy Artillery in the Bitcoin ETF Showdown