Spot Bitcoin ETFs Hit Record-Breaking Volume, Again

How does the saying go? Records are there to be broken.

In the case of an Olympic track & field record, you might expect this to take years, or even decades—for example Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record for running the 100-meter dash in 9.58 seconds has yet to be broken—but this is crypto, records barely last weeks sometimes.

Related: Bitcoin Sets New Australian Dollar Record, Just Shy of 100K Amid ETF Frenzy

Well, it’s only been two days since we reported about Spot Bitcoin ETFs breaking day one volumes by trading USD 2.4 billion (AUD $3.67 billion) in volume on Monday. BlackRock’s IBIT traded USD $1.292 billion (AUD $1.973 billion) that same day.

Now, Wednesday US Time, that record seems a distant history, because the nine (ex. Grayscale) have effectively doubled their volume from Monday and have seen a combined volume of USD $6 billion (AUD $9.27 billion) traded with IBIT taking top spot with a whopping USD $3.3 billion (AUD $5.06 billion).

‘I Don’t Have Access To It, My Mommy Won’t Allow It’

Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas comments on the strong performance and high trading volumes of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, suggesting that this success is primarily due to genuine investor interest rather than algorithmic or arbitrage-driven trading.

In a post on X, he mentions that major brokerage platforms are considering adding these ETFs to their offerings due to the growing demand. Balchunas believes these platforms are likely feeling pressured to act quickly, despite their usual preference for established track records and profit opportunities.

Balchunas couldn’t help but take a jab at Morgan Stanley, because recent reports indicate the Wall Street giant is considering offering Spot Bitcoin ETF products:

Imagine being [a] Morgan advisor and your client wants IBIT and you have to be like ‘I don’t have access to it, my mommy (the platform gatekeeper) won’t allow it.’ That’s gotta be embarrassing.

Eric Balchunas

There’s More You Say?

But that USD $6 billion in daily volume is not all there is to it. 

Interestingly, Balchunas points out that if Bitcoin Futures are added into the mix—the analyst calls this the Bitcoin ETF Complex—the total volume comes to USD $10 billion (AUD $15.34 billion).

Spot ETFs invest directly in the underlying asset, like Bitcoin, meaning they hold actual Bitcoin. Futures ETFs, in contrast, invest in futures contracts on the asset, not the asset itself.

This difference affects trading volume as spot ETFs can directly influence the demand for the actual asset, potentially leading to higher volumes in the underlying market. Futures ETFs might not impact the underlying asset’s demand in the same way, as they trade based on predictions of future prices.