US bitcoin ETFs see $4.6B in volume in first day of trading

History was made on Thursday as the first-ever Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) entered the market, with a trading volume of 4.6 billion dollars on the U.S. stock market.

According to Reuters, 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds commenced trading on Thursday as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing of the Bitcoin spot ETF. The Grayscale ETF emerged as the leader, with an impressive trading volume of 2.32 billion dollars. This figure significantly surpassed the estimated trading volume of 'SPDR Gold Shares,' currently the world's largest gold spot ETF listed on the U.S. stock market, which stood at 1.23 billion dollars on Friday.

As ETF trading commenced, the price of Bitcoin surged to 49,000 dollars, reaching its highest level in two years since December 2021. Subsequently, it retreated to the 46,000-dollar level by 5:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. Fueled by expectations of virtual assets integrating into the financial system, Ethereum, the cryptocurrency with the second-largest market capitalization after Bitcoin, experienced a more than 10% surge throughout the day. On the same day, Arc Investment CEO Cathy Wood, also known as the 'Money Tree Sister' in Korea, shared an optimistic outlook on CNBC, saying, “Bitcoin could potentially reach $1.5 million (approximately 2 billion won) by 2030 in an optimistic scenario.”

Conversely in Korea, the Financial Services Commission decided to prohibit trading Bitcoin spot ETFs, citing their exclusion from the scope of investment brokerage product licenses. Furthermore, existing transactions involving virtual asset ETFs are also facing restrictions. Several securities firms, including Mirae Asset Securities, have ceased new purchases of Bitcoin spot ETFs listed in Canada and Germany. Some even have suspended trading in futures ETFs. “We will halt new purchases of Bitcoin futures ETFs until financial authorities issue clear guidelines,” KB Securities said on the same day.


abro@donga.com