On Dec. 16, US spot and derivative Bitcoin ETFs collectively broke $129 billion in net assets, surpassing gold ETFs for the first time.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds now collectively manage approximately $104 billion, and are on track to surpass gold ETFs in net assets.
The Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a major headliner recently due to heightened levels of market inflows. According to data from SoSoValue, these ETFs have attracted over $5 billion in investments over the past three weeks coinciding with an impressive Bitcoin price rally of over 23%. However, amidst this euphoria, macro investment researcher Jim Bianco says these Spot ETFs have contributed no significant growth to the Bitcoin market. Related Reading: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Reaches 2% Of Total BTC Supply Amid Record Inflows Spot Bitcoin ETFs Bring In No New Money, Only Recycled Investments In a series of X posts on November 2, Bianco claimed the Spot Bitcoin ETFs despite their impressive inflow record do not attract any new investments to the underlying asset. Firstly, The analyst applauds the performance of these institutional funds some of which rank as the best-performing ETFs of 2024 following their launch in January. However, Bianco highlights BTC has failed to surpass its all-time high value of 73,750 set eight months ago despite the Spot Bitcoin ETFs accruing over $12 billion in inflows since BTC within the same period. Rather than being less than 4% down from its ATH, the analyst explained that such high inflows should have since pushed premier cryptocurrency beyond the $100,000 mark especially considering other positive indicators such as Fed rate cuts, the halving, and public endorsement by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. For context, Bianco references the Gold ETFs with a record of over $6 billion in inflows since March 13, resulting in a 25% increase in gold’s market price during that period. The market analyst postulates that this price growth can be attributed to the “new money” flowing into the Gold ETFs. However, recycled funds shifted from on-chain wallets or centralized exchanges account for the majority of the investments in Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Jim Bianco backs this theory with a report from Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas which highlighted a decline in the exchange’s bitcoin retail traders over the last few months. Furthermore, he also points to the average Spot BTC ETF trade of $16,000 compared to the average gold ETF trade of $72,000 which is consistent with investments from wealth managers and institutions. In conclusion, Jim Bianco states the Spot Bitcoin ETFs are not attracting any “new money” but merely circulating existing investments in Bitcoin, which he describes as a concerning trend that may grant traditional financial institutions (TradFi) more influence in the crypto market as against the ethos of decentralization. Related Reading: Dogecoin Price Could Climb To $0.209 — Here’s The Level To Watch Bloomberg Analyst Fires Back At BTC ETF Criticism Popular Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has issued a strong rebuttal to Bianco’s take on the Spot Bitcoin ETFs which he describes as merely “mental gymnastics”. Balchunas has lauded the performances of these ETFs which he believed have played a crucial role in driving Bitcoin’s price from $35,000 in January to the present market price of almost $70,000. The Bloomberg analyst describes the Spot Bitcoin ETFs as “powerful” due to their low cost, high liquidity, and association with an established brand name and advises against betting against them. At the time of writing, BTC. continues to trade at $68,100 reflecting a 2.55% decline in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Blockzeit, chart from Tradingview
Market analyst and President of the ETF Store Nate Geraci has backed the US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs to overtake the Gold ETFs in terms of cumulative net flows. This projection comes amidst a staggering performance by these Bitcoin ETFs in the past few days where they have attracted over $2 billion in weekly netflows. Related Reading: Bitcoin Breaking Out Of 7-Month Accumulation Channel: Expert Predicts Further Upside Spot Bitcoin ETFs To Surpass Gold ETF In 2 Years, Analyst Says The spot Bitcoin ETFs rattled the global financial markets this week recording net inflows of $2.13 billion according to data from SoSoValue. This massive influx of investments occurred as Bitcoin surged by 9.23%, approaching a critical resistance zone at the $70,000 price mark. Amidst this market euphoria, Nate Geraci has predicted the spot Bitcoin ETFs to record a higher cumulative total netflows than the Gold ETFs in the next two years. This forecast is largely unsurprising considering the exponential growth of these Bitcoin ETFs since their launch on January 11. For context, the Gold ETFs currently boast of combined net inflows of around $55 billion in comparison to $20.66 billion aggregate net inflows in the spot Bitcoin ETFs market. However, the Bitcoin ETFs have been trading for barely a year compared to the Gold ETFs which have been around for over 20 years. Furthermore, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas recently highlighted that spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed over $65 billion in total net assets, a milestone that took Gold ETFs nearly five years to achieve. This figure is also over 25% of the total assets under management in the global Gold ETF market. In addition, Geraci’s theory is further strengthened by the few 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs currently trading compared to the almost 5000 Gold ETFs on the global financial market. Therefore, these Bitcoin ETFs may actually be poised to overtake their Gold counterparts, especially considering the upcoming crypto market bull run and current adoption levels of digital assets. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price To $95,000? Here’s What Needs To Happen First Bitcoin Set For Price Recorrection Amidst Market Surge In other news, crypto analyst Ali Martinez has shared that Bitcoin may soon experience a “short-term dip” following its recent price rally. As earlier stated, the crypto market leader gained by over 8% moving from around $63,000 to nearly breaking above $69,000. While the BTC market is currently bullish, Martinez states that the TD sequential is currently indicating a sell signal on the 4-hour chart which is strengthened by a bearish divergence on the Relative Strength Index (RSI). If Bitcoin’s price were to decline, investors would turn their attention to the $60,000 price zone at which lies its next support level. Albeit a strong selling pressure may cause the premier cryptocurrency to trade as low as $55,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin continues to trade at $68,428 with a 0.98% gain in the last day. Featured image from Forbes, chart from Tradingview
The fund touts leveraged exposure to Bitcoin and gold as investors brace for inflation and geopolitical strife.
Physically backed Bitcoin ETFs, like Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, are safer than any other ETFs due to their unique accounting system, Core Scientific founder Darin Feinstein believes.