- Bitcoin ETFs, initiated in January 2024, quickly became one of the most successful ETF launches.
- Their growth is so robust that they are projected to hold more BTC than Satoshi Nakamoto by year-end.
- BlackRock’s IBIT fund is expected to surpass even the mysterious Bitcoin creator in BTC holdings.
- Notable Bitcoin holders include the Chinese and US governments, and MicroStrategy which continues to increase its substantial BTC stash.
To say spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been a bit of a success story would be an understatement. But these funds, launched just in January of 2024, have become some of the most well received ETFs in history.
And they continue to grow at a steady pace, so much so that they soon could be the top holder of BTC. Or, as Spencer Hakimian, the founder of Tolou Capital Management, put it, “ETFs going to be bigger than Satoshi by Christmas Day.”
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Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, added that the BlackRock fund IBIT alone will at some stage even have more BTC than the enigmatic Bitcoin developer.
Chinese, US Governments, and MicroStrategy Among Largest HODLers
Balchunas posted the list of the top 12 holders of Bitcoin on X, which reveals some interesting stats. While Satoshi’s stack consists of 1.1 million Bitcoin, the US ETFs hold a combined 916,047 BTC.
It’s notable that two governments and a public company are amid some of the largest Bitcoin holders. China has 194,000 BTC in its coffers while the US stashes 203,239 BTC. MicroStrategy has accumulated 252,220 BTC, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to their eager accrual.
Only a little over a week ago, the company announced plans to raise more capital to buy Bitcoin, just three days after it announced that it had added 18,300 BTC to its reserves.
Funds Receive US$136 Million In Net Inflows
The latest available data shows the US funds added a combined US$136 million (AU$199.1 million) to their holdings, with IBIT once again accounting for the most flows. The iShares fund saw US$98.9 million (AU$144.8 million) in net inflows on Tuesday, with data for Wednesday still pending.
Outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC fund are also slowing down, with data for Monday showing that a total US$40.3 million (AU$59 million) left the fund. This means GBTC saw net outflows only on one out of the past five trading days.
SEC Approves Options Trading for BTC ETF, Delays It For ETH
Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on the Ethereum funds. While it approved options trading for BlackRock’s IBIT fund, the SEC stated earlier this week that it needed more time to decide on options trading for both BlackRock’s and Bitwise’s Ether funds.
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However, while the SEC postponed the decision until mid-November – given the track record of the regulator when it comes to the approval of any crypto-related product – we may not see the green light in 2024.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes this may come around April 2025.
In any case, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), also need to give their ok – something that’s also still outstanding for IBIT.
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