With Bitcoin gaining traction, several institutional investors are gaining profits. The latest to enjoy the benefits of Bitcoin surge is the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. The exchange-traded funds, launched in January in the U.S. witnessed a huge milestone on Friday. For the first time since its inception, the ETFs crossed over 1.1 million BTC in their holdings. This is said to be a greater amount than that held by Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that the U.S. Bitcoin holdings of 1,104,534 BTC have surpassed not just Satoshi’s, but the whole world. Also, Balchunas remarked that the spot ETFs are not even a year old and are just ‘babies’ to the sector. Further, based on his findings, he stated that the 1.1M holdings surpassed Binance by 42% and contain over 63% more BTC than MicroStrategy, which accumulates Bitcoin at every possible opportunity.
On Friday, the Bitcoin spot ETFs reported a net inflow of over $370M. BlackRock (IBIT) led with $257.03 million, while Grayscale (GBTC) witnessed an outflow of $32.26 million. Also, Fidelity (FBTC) and Ark& 21Shares (ARKB) gained $120.17M and $24.90M, respectively. With the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs gaining the upper hand, speculations are rife that it could cast a shadow on Bitcoin ownership.
Earlier, Nakamoto’s Bitcoin weightage was associated with the anonymity of the project and its decentralized nature. Today, some of the largest financial companies are close to owning more Bitcoin than the maker. This shows how crypto has moved from being just a niche asset to being an important financial instrument in mainstream markets. Further, Bitcoin ETFs are not only seen as a tool for investing but also reflect the interest of investors.
Vancouver Mayor Calls Bitcoin the Greatest Invention: ReportWith the Bitcoin ETFs reaching a new milestone, analysts await its reaction on the market. The trend, as observed, implies that Bitcoin is in the process of gaining institutional interest, promising growth in upcoming years.
