BITO on Track to Be First Fund in History to Hit $1B in AUM in Two Days

Four hours into the trading session on its second day listed, America’s first-ever bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy Fund (BITO), surpassed $1 billion in volume. 

“The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF is now one of the most successful launches in ETF history. The initial demand for this ETF is off-the-charts and has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations,” said Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store. “It’s clear investors and advisors were craving bitcoin price exposure in their traditional brokerage accounts and IRAs.”

If ProShares converts 43% of Wednesday’s volume into assets — it already converted 57% on Tuesday — it will be the first fund in history to reach $1 billion in assets under management in two days.

SPDR Gold Shares (ticker GLD), which many are comparing with BITO, hit $1 billion AUM in three days after its launch in 2004. 

The fund’s demand has pushed the world’s largest digital currency to a new all-time high of more than $66,000 Wednesday. 

“The futures on which the ETF is based started trading in 2017, and bitcoin ripped into that event. It topped out at $19,000 but wouldn’t see that level again for 3 years,” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. “Yes, it is 3x that price now, but December 2017’s bitcoin buyers had to live through a lot of pain to see the promised land.” 

Investors and analysts are awaiting filings from two other issues expected to launch their own futures-based funds in the coming days. 

VanEck submitted its post-effective amendment filing Wednesday and hinted at a launch day of next week. 

VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF will be available “as soon as practicable” after this coming Saturday, October 23, making Monday, October 25, a plausible date, according to the filing.

Valkyrie’s fund, which some analysts originally thought would launch alongside ProShare’s product, may list on the Nasdaq as early as Thursday. The issuer has not yet filed its post-effective amendment. 

BITO was tradingat $43.51, up 3.74%, at press time.