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In the initial forty-eight hours following the launch of the United States’ first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), data has emerged regarding the number of bitcoins held by these funds. Currently, Blackrock stands at the forefront among all funds, Grayscale’s GBTC excluded, with a significant holding of 11,439 bitcoin. Additionally, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the Bitwise Bitcoin Trust (BITB) also possess substantial bitcoin reserves.
Unpacking the Holdings: A Glimpse Into Emerging Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authorized 11 spot bitcoin ETFs for the inaugural time. Among these, a fund operated by digital currency manager Hashdex isn’t a spot BTC ETF currently. On Jan. 11, Hashdex clarified in a public announcement that their offering is presently a futures product, with plans to evolve into a spot BTC ETF. This implies that, at this stage, the fund does not include bitcoin in its portfolio.
On Saturday, Bitcoin.com News highlighted Blackrock’s position boasting ownership of 11,439 BTC. Among the funds approved by the SEC, Blackrock’s reserves are the most substantial, second only to Grayscale’s GBTC, which currently possesses 617,079 BTC as of Jan. 13, 2024. This indicates that Blackrock’s recently amassed BTC represents 1.85% of Grayscale’s extensive holdings.
Data from the Bitwise ETF reveals that the fund’s net assets under management (AUM) amount to $242,940,653. According to insights provided by bitcointreasuries.net user @girevik, dividing the AUM by the cfbenchmarks reference price noted on the preceding Thursday and Friday indicates that Bitwise is likely in possession of 5,550 BTC. Nevertheless, the specific quantity of BTC is not officially detailed on the Bitwise web portal, which only displays the AUM in U.S. dollars.
Trailing just behind Bitwise is the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which, as of the latest update on Jan. 12, 2024, is in possession of 5,290 BTC. Vaneck’s spot bitcoin ETF, named HODL, transparently displays its BTC holdings, revealing that the firm owns 1,640.92 BTC. Another player, Franklin Templeton’s ETF labeled EZBC, also maintains a bitcoin reserve. Its web portal indicates that as of Friday, the fund has 1,131 BTC.
Furthermore, the ARK 21shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) website reveals that the fund possesses an estimated 1,625 BTC, which corresponds to an AUM of $75,833,696. Valkyrie, recently acquired by Coinshares, has 1,102.87 BTC, as indicated on the BRRR fund’s website. However, the Invesco Galaxy ETF, known as BTCO, currently does not showcase its BTC holdings on its website, as the “holdings” page awaits an update. Similarly, Wisdomtree and its BTCW fund have yet to display a full BTC count of holdings on their website.
Among all the aforementioned funds, including Blackrock’s holdings, the ETFs collectively have approximately 26,152 BTC in their possession, which translates to a value of $1.11 billion at the current BTC exchange rates. This amount, though significant, is relatively modest when compared to Grayscale’s vast reserve of 617,079 BTC, comprising just 4.23% of GBTC’s total holdings. Furthermore, other non-U.S. exchange-traded products (ETPs) surpass the newly introduced spot bitcoin ETFs in bitcoin holdings. For example, Bitwise’s BITW fund holds 11,003 BTC.
In the international arena, Canada’s Purpose ETF boasts a holding of 34,007 BTC, while the ETC Physical Bitcoin fund on the Xetra trading platform secures 26,858 BTC. Coinshare’s fund, XBT.ST, traded on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange, maintains 18,783 BTC. Additionally, as of January 14, 2024, Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap fund holds 6,391 BTC.
What do you think about the assets held by the newly introduced spot bitcoin ETFs? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.