Almost $10 billion has been traded in spot Bitcoin ETFs in the first three days since they launched last week.
On Jan. 17, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart posted the updated figures revealing $9.7 billion in volume.
Moreover, Grayscale has the lion’s share of this, with 52% or $5.1 billion in trade volume.
However, it is not all capital inflows since many investors were switching strategies. Some have sold GBTC to move into alternatives with better fees, and others have switched out of futures-based funds in preference for a spot-based product.
According to data from CC15Capital posted on Jan. 17, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust saw outflows of 11,188 BTC.
Moreover, the total number of BTC held was 34,589, worth an estimated $1.48 billion at current prices.
“Today is likely to be a net outflow day for the Bitcoin ETFs,” said Seyffart, who added:
“Estimating ~$594 million left GBTC for a total of $1.173 billion in outflows. Most others saw inflows but doubt its enough to offset nearly $600 mln out of GBTC,”
BitMEX Research posted its figures, which included flows for each fund. On day three of trading, Bitwise (BITB) had an inflow of $17.3 million, it reported.
Crypto Podcaster “MartyParty” observed that BlackRock removed 11,500 BTC from Coinbase on Jan. 14 and has just returned it, posing the question:
“Could this be to introduce artificial scarcity? That’s half a billion out and half a billion back in.”
On Jan. 17, senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported that ProShares had just filed for a bunch of leveraged spot bitcoin ETFs. “They could have up to a dozen of these on the market in a few months,” he added.
The five new applications for leveraged funds from the firm included ones to short Bitcoin. The ProShares UltraShort Bitcoin ETF (-2x), ShortPlus Bitcoin ETF(-1.5x), and Short Bitcoin ETF (-1x) all give speculators the option to short the asset with leverage.
Additionally, it filed for ProShares Plus Bitcoin ETF (+1.5x) and ProShares Ultra Bitcoin ETF (+2x).
Meanwhile, Fidelity Digital Assets posed a question on Jan. 17, asking whether it was likely or possible for a competitor to replace Bitcoin. “While technically possible, we believe it’s unlikely,” it said before adding:
“For one, Bitcoin’s open-source software can be copied, but its community and network effects cannot.”