Bitcoin Spot ETFs Shatter Volume Records, IBIT Hits $1.3 Billion Milestone

Ah Bitcoin, you’ve done it again: the record-breaking ETF saga continues. After a huge amount of volume on the first day, the Spot Bitcoin ETFs have set new records for inflows, achieving unprecedented levels of volume and reaching these milestones at an unparalleled pace.

In early February we reported that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) reached the top five for global capital inflows for 2024—and later that month BlackRock and Fidelity (the two largest Spot Bitcoin ETFs) hit a whopping 200,000 Bitcoin.

Maybe it’s not surprising, then, that on Monday yet another superlative was reached: BTC volume of over USD $1 billion in one day. That’s correct, IBIT traded USD $1.292 billion (AUD $1.973 billion) in a single day.

That is more than double from last week’s daily average which is around USD $500 million (AUD $764 million) daily. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said this places IBIT in 11th spot for ETFs worldwide (top 0.3%), equal to top 25 amid stocks. He called the number unprecedented for a new entrant.

You can see from the image below that IBIT is now in the reserved circles of popular ETFs like Vanguard’s S&P 500 (VOO) and iShares S&P 500 (IVV)—which many of our readers may hold as part of their Superannuation portfolio.

Note that Balchunas has since updated the daily volume for IBIT and it has now surpassed the $1bn figure.

Stop The Press: More Records Shattered

But why stop there, Balchunas reported hot off the press that the nine Spot Bitcoin ETFs—sometimes simply referred to as the nine—just broke another record. They just hit a combined USD 2.4 billion (AUD $3.67 billion) in volume. This has now broken the day one volume and most of this is due to IBIT.

Balchunas points out that while volume doesn’t directly equate to investment flows, it plays a crucial role in the long-term perspective. High liquidity, facilitated by substantial trading volumes, reduces transaction costs and friction and enhances privacy in trades. This is the reason why institutional investors typically favour ETFs with significant volume, Balchunas says.

Confronted with the question why BlackRock’s IBIT is doing so well, Balchunas said:

BlackRock is Godzilla-big with massive distribution, a trusted brand and they are well known in trading world (dozens of their ETFs do over $200m/day) so not surprising they breaking away in volume. That said, rest of New Nine are doing fine to outstanding, everyone gonna eat.

Eric Balchunas