From Hot To Blistering: Bitcoin ETFs Zoom Past $3.5B Following $1B Opening Act

In a stunning display of market fervor, newly-approved Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have taken the financial world by storm, blazing past the $1 billion mark within the first 30 minutes of trading and have since surpassed the $3.5 billion mark.

Total trading volumes of BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale Bitcoin ETFs surpassed the $1 billion mark in the first 30 minutes of trade with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) leading trading volumes with roughly 10 million shares traded in the first 15 minutes after the bell.

Bitcoin ETFs from financial giants BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale have collectively soared past the $1 billion threshold in trading volumes within the first 30 minutes of market opening.

In the lead for this remarkable achievement is BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) which saw an impressive flurry of approximately 10 million shares traded in just the initial 15 minutes post-market bell.

The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the recently converted ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), demonstrated impressive trading activity as well in the same time frame, with FBTC moving approximately 5 million shares, while GBTC exceeded expectations by trading around 10.5 million shares at around 10 a.m. ET on Thursday.

The joint spot Bitcoin ETF from Ark Invest and 21Shares had recorded impressive trading volumes, amounting to roughly 1.7 million shares valued at approximately $86 million.

But as of 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, an astounding total of over $3.5 billion worth of shares have been traded across the 11 US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Leading the charge, this time is GBTC, which saw a staggering $1.7 billion in trading volume, as reported by Bloomberg based on its compiled data.

Meanwhile, the iShares Bitcoin Trust from BlackRock, known as IBIT has seen a significant turnover with more than $880 million in shares.

"The recent green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission for 11 Bitcoin spot ETF applications, featuring heavyweight players like BlackRock, Ark Investments/21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco and VanEck, signals a pivotal shift toward mainstream adoption by major financial institutions," Rachel Lin, CEO and co-founder of the decentralized exchange for trading crypto perpetual futures SynFutures, told International Business Times via email.

"The entrance of these respected names into the Bitcoin spot ETF space is poised to inject a new level of legitimacy and liquidity into the market, and potentially bring a more sophisticated investor base into the crypto sphere," the executive added.

"The intricate interplay between Bitcoin spot ETFs and the existing Bitcoin futures ETFs adds an intriguing layer to this development. These ETFs essentially attract different investor bases and their respective impacts on market liquidity and volatility may vary. Market participants should be attuned to the dynamic between these two investment instruments, and closely monitor the potential divergences between the prices of Bitcoin in the spot market and the futures market," Lin further said.

The CEO of SynFutures also issued a cautionary note to potential investors, highlighting the inherent volatility of the market and advising them to exercise discretion when contemplating investment in such products.

"Despite the undeniably positive impact of institutional endorsements, given the inherent volatility of the market, investors are urged to exercise caution and implement risk management strategies," Lin said, before adding, "It is important for investors to approach this transformative shift with a discerning eye and careful consideration of risk appetite, ensuring adequate hedges are in place."