In a groundbreaking achievement, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a daily trading volume of $10 billion, setting a new record.
The day of March 5 not only witnessed Bitcoin reaching a new peak in USD value but also marked the occasion when spot ETFs experienced unprecedented trading volumes.
On Tuesday, the introduction of ten Bitcoin ETFs resulted in a trading volume of $10 billion, shattering the prior record established on February 28, as reported by Bloomberg’s ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas.
Given the inherent volatility and trading volume associated with ETFs, Balchunas expressed little surprise at the figures, albeit acknowledging them as exceptionally high for funds that are less than two months old.
Unprecedented Trading Volumes Among ETFs
Notable ETFs like BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB, and Ark 21Shares ARKB fund all witnessed their highest trading volumes to date.
Additionally, the Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI) by ProShares also achieved a new trading volume record, an outcome Balchunas anticipated given its nature as a short Bitcoin ETF.
Similarly, records were broken by the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) and the Volatility Shares 2x leveraged Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX) fund. Balchunas highlighted the significant influence of the spot market frenzy and Bitcoin’s peak on the derivative markets:
“The unexpected yet positive ripple effect from the spot market excitement on futures ETFs is intriguing … something we hadn’t foreseen.”
Balchunas further noted that the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed over $50 billion in assets under management, starting from less than $30 billion seven weeks ago. Out of this, $8 billion came from investments, with the remaining boost due to the rise in Bitcoin’s value, he elaborated.
He speculated on the future growth trajectory of these ETFs, suggesting that, at their current rate of growth, they might surpass gold ETFs by this summer if they continue to add $10 billion a month, contingent on Bitcoin’s price performance.
Additionally, March 4 stood out for BlackRock and Fidelity with inflows exceeding $400 million each.
Farside Investors provided preliminary data indicating a significant outflow from Grayscale’s GBTC fund, with $332 million leaving on the preceding day.
Post-Peak BTC Downturn Leads to Liquidation Spike
Following its historic peak, Bitcoin experienced a 12% flash crash on Tuesday. However, it slightly recovered, trading at around the $66,000 mark at the time of this report.
Coinglass reported that over 312,000 traders, predominantly holding long positions, were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with total liquidations reaching $1.15 billion.