cryptoknowmics.com
By the end of its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO), the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S., has hit $1 billion in assets under management in just two days.
ProShares Bitcoin ETF Is the Second-Most Traded ETF in Record
It took the previous record holder, the gold ETF GLD, three days to hit the billion mark with $BITO entering it in only two days. Since going live on October 19, the fund has traded over $2 billion in volume with more than 24 million shares traded during its debut day.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented that there may not be any contracts left to buy if this volume continues, referring to a post by ETFStore President Nate Geraci stating that nearly 45% of BITO exposure is now in November futures contracts.
The highly anticipated launch of the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund in the United States comes following approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Friday.
Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High
BITO is an alternative investment vehicle for retail and institutional investors interested in indirect bitcoin exposure. The fund invests in bitcoin futures contracts, rather than actual BTC.
The crypto industry has longed for a bitcoin-based ETF for years now. In about 2017, asset managers began applying to launch spot bitcoin ETFs, but their proposals were rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The rush of applications for futures-based ETFs came this year, shortly after blockchain-friendly Chairman Gary Gensler became the chairperson of the regulatory agency.
The Bitcoin ETF approval has driven Bitcoin prices to a new all-time high of $67,276 on Oct. 20. At the time of writing, the digital asset has retreated slightly and is currently trading at $65,253.