The race for the top spot in the U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is heating up. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen a significant surge in assets under management (AUM), putting it neck-and-neck with Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Grayscale remains at the top with $18.7 billion in assets under management (AUM), but BlackRock is gaining ground, reaching $17.2 billion, just $1.5 billion short of taking the lead.
Despite the ongoing outflows from GBTC, IBIT’s steady growth puts it in a strong position to overtake Grayscale. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas had predicted IBIT would surpass GBTC by the end of April, though this might not materialize, given recent slower inflows into BlackRock’s fund. Nonetheless, with GBTC’s historic outflows and IBIT’s consistent inflows, the lead is likely to switch soon.
While BlackRock is making strides in the U.S., Hong Kong has made headlines with the launch of six new spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, marking the first such trading opportunity in Asia. These funds collectively traded more than $80 million Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), or about $10 million, on their first day.
Hong Kong’s debut of spot ETFs outperformed existing futures-based ETFs, with the new funds’ combined turnover surpassing their futures counterparts. However, the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. made a significantly larger impact, seeing $4.5 billion in trading on their first day. By comparison, the Hong Kong launch was modest, indicating the larger potential of the U.S. market.
Eric Balchunas reacted to the excitement over the launch of spot bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong with a mix of skepticism and anticipation. He noted that reaching inflows of “close to $125m would be unreal on Day One for HK, that’s equivalent to $21b in the US.”
