US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Reach $27 Billion in Assets

On January 17, the assets under management (AUM) of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on the first cryptocurrency in the United States reached 632,000 BTC (~$27 billion), according to research by CoinGecko. 

Grayscale’s GBTC accounts for 93.4% of all bitcoins held in American bitcoin ETFs. In fiat terms, the product’s AUM is approximately $25.3 billion.

CoinGecko noted that GBTC was launched as a trust back in 2013, which explains its significant lead. However, after converting to an ETF, the instrument saw an outflow of $1.3 billion as investors began shifting to other funds. 

“One of the reasons for the large outflow from GBTC is the high fees. Other providers charge between 0.12% and 0.49%, while GBTC charges 1.5%. Given this, further outflows from GBTC are expected,” the researchers emphasized.

The second-largest spot bitcoin ETF by assets is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), managing $698.1 million (2.6% of the total).

Fidelity Wise Origin (FBTC) ranks third with $523 million, representing 1.93% of the market share. WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW) is currently the smallest fund in the US, managing $3.2 million.

Earlier in January, the SEC approved all 11 applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. Trading commenced the following day. 

Four days after the launch, the trading volume of the crypto instrument in the US reached $11.1 billion.