By Gabriel Joyce
The trading volume for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a significant uptick in March, nearly tripling the figures recorded in February.
The volume reached an impressive $111 billion last month, a substantial increase from the $42 billion total observed in the previous month. This surge reflects a growing interest and confidence in cryptocurrency investments, marking March as a milestone month for the burgeoning spot bitcoin ETF market.
Surge in Trading Volume Marks Growing Interest in Spot Bitcoin ETFs
March witnessed a significant surge in trading volume for spot bitcoin ETFs, soaring to $111 billion, a notable jump from February’s $42.2 billion, as compiled by Yahoo Finance using The Block Data Dashboard.
This leap in trading volume comes just a few months after the products were introduced to the market on January 11, indicating an escalating interest in these novel crypto-based financial instruments.
The sharp increase from February, which was the first full month of trading for these ETFs, underscores the burgeoning appeal and investor confidence in the cryptocurrency sector.
Eric Balchunas, a Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg, highlighted the importance of the March figures in a recent post on X, emphasizing the substantial growth in trading volume.
Balchunas remarked on the extraordinary increase from the first two months of the year, expressing intrigue over the potential for this trend to continue into April and beyond.
Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity’s ETF Performance
The trading landscape for spot bitcoin ETFs is currently dominated by products issued by Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity, showcasing their significant impact on the market.
Despite this dominance, Grayscale’s GBTC fund experienced notable outflows, surpassing $15 billion in total since its inception in January.
This shift is particularly striking in bitcoin terms, with GBTC witnessing a 46% decrease from approximately 619,000 BTC to 333,619 BTC ($22 billion) since it transitioned into a spot bitcoin ETF, according to data from CoinGlass.
Conversely, in dollar terms, BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot bitcoin ETFs demonstrated robust growth last month, managing assets worth about $18 billion and $10 billion, respectively, as per CoinShares data.
The inflow metrics reveal that among the trio, BlackRock and Fidelity’s offerings have seen the most success, indicating a shifting preference among investors and a diversifying landscape within the burgeoning sector of cryptocurrency-based financial products.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Net Outflows
After a week of consistent net inflows, the tide turned for spot bitcoin ETFs during yesterday’s trading session, marking a return to net outflows. The change in direction amounted to net outflows of $85.7 million for Monday. A significant portion of this movement was due to Grayscale’s fund, which experienced a substantial reduction, shedding $302.6 million, as reported by CoinGlass data.
