Spot bitcoin ETFs, after a phenomenal market debut, have claimed the second-largest commodity position in the U.S. ETF market, growing larger than silver and trailing only behind gold, in a clear sign of the the mainstream appetite for the digital asset.
Bitcoin ETFs Outshine Silver, Secure Second Place in U.S. ETF Commodities
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have overtaken silver to become the second-largest commodity in the U.S. ETF market, trailing only gold.
The recent approval of spot bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has catalyzed this shift. Bitcoin ETFs, including the newly converted Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), command nearly $28 billion in assets under management (AUM). This figure starkly contrasts with the $11 billion AUM of silver ETFs, as reported by etfdb.com.
Gold maintains its leading position with approximately $95 billion in AUM, but the swift rise of spot bitcoin ETFs is a testament to the digital asset’s growing acceptance and popularity. bitcoin, often touted as the digital counterpart to gold, has demonstrated its robust appeal in the ETF market, a domain traditionally dominated by conventional commodities.
The initial response to spot bitcoin ETFs was overwhelmingly positive, with an impressive $9.6 billion in trading volume recorded within the first three days of trading, a historic figure in the ETF market.
To determine how bitcoin ETFs surpassed silver in AUM, a simple analysis of the holdings was undertaken. Initially, the total number of bitcoins held in various ETFs, excluding GBTC, was sourced from a post by CC15Capital on X. This figure was then combined with the number of bitcoins held by GBTC, as reported by Coinglass. Multiply this aggregated total by the current spot price of Bitcoin for an approximate value of $28 billion. This figure is higher than the AUM for silver ETFs, as listed on etfdb.com.
Grayscale’s conversion of its existing Bitcoin trust into an ETF played a pivotal role in this shift, creating the world’s largest spot bitcoin ETF overnight. In fact, some ETF market watchers like James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas caution against reading too much into the rapidity with which bitcoin overtook silver.
Seyffart, a Bloombert ETF analyst, explained in a post on X that interest in spot bitcoin didn’t ramp up with the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs. Much of it was driven by Greyscale’s GBTC conversion. Seyffart said, “that means it was #2 as soon as the conversion happened! So not really “news” per se haha.”
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, agreed with this interpretation, saying, “yeah I get the whole bigger than silver excitement but i just don’t count it as impressive given 95% of was simply GBTC converting.” He added, “These milestones [are] MUCH harder when you [have a] brand new ETF, dif standards of measure.”
Do you think spot bitcoin ETFs will some day unseat gold ETFs for the number one spot? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
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