Gary Gensler has described crypto as the Wild West and one observer said markets are likely to see just that under new leadership in D.C.
Jan 14, 2025, 7: 12 p.m. UTC
To say that the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) exceeded expectations in their first year on the market is an understatement at best. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that they’ve shocked the industry to its core.
“Just how big was the first year for Bitcoin ETFs?” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote on X. “MASSIVE.”
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had the most successful launch in the history of U.S. ETFs, accumulating more than $52.3 billion worth of assets in its first year (a combination of large inflows and the sharp rise in the price of bitcoin), according to Seyffart.
Three of the other spot bitcoin ETFs, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) — were also among the top 20 U.S. ETF launches of all time.
The last twelve months in crypto were “momentous,” said Matt Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity Investments. Indeed, FBTC is the fund management giant’s largest exchange-traded product at nearly $19 billion in assets under management, according to the company website.
“While we were optimistic for the launch of the bitcoin ETPs, demand exceeded our expectations across all client segments including retail investors, advisors, institutions and beyond,” Horne said. “Given these products have seen tremendous asset growth and now have a year of performance, we expect to see continued adoption across both the advisor and institutional client segments.”
Where to go from here?
While some hedge funds or pension funds allocated modest money into the spot ETFs, the majority of inflows came from nonprofessional investors. That, however, could change.
“The record flow