In testament to market participants’ enthusiasm for the 10 spot bitcoin ETFs that debuted last week, including the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), the group already ranks as the second-largest segment of the commodities ETF space, trailing only gold funds.
Helped in part by the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) to the ETF wrapper from the index fund structure, the new batch of spot bitcoin ETFs have more than $30 billion in AUM. Invesco’s BTCO is off to an impressive start. It has $137.5 million in AUM as of January 17, according to issuer data.
That’s an important data point for BTCO for many reasons. First, $100 million is widely viewed as the AUM tally necessary for an ETF to be deemed “successful” or “sustainable.” Second, it’s the mark that can set the stage for inclusion on custody platforms used by registered investment advisors. Third, the influx of assets to the rookie ETF could be an indication that the fee waiver is attractive to end users.
Other Interesting Points About Spot Bitcoin ETFs
On aggregate basis, BTCO and friends would be the second-largest commodities ETF segment behind only gold. That’s impressive when considering gold is an ancient asset. Not to mention that the first bullion-backed ETF came to market nearly 20 years.
“Thanks to the conversion of the existing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF, there was immediately almost $30 billion stashed in bitcoin ETFs, according to data compiled by CoinDesk. Silver ETFs have combined assets of about $11 billion,” reported Helene Braun for CoinDesk.
The largest silver ETF has $9.77 billion in AUM. It’s also the oldest in this space at nearly 18 years old. BTCO could soon be larger than any of the silver ETFs outside of the big kahuna. With $137.5 million in AUM, the spot bitcoin ETF is already bigger than roughly 20 older diversified commodities exchange traded products as well as several other funds backed by physical holdings of precious metals.
To be precise, BTCO is already bigger, as measured by assets, than eight precious metals ETFs, including the second-largest platinum-backed fund. All of that was accomplished in a week, indicating a bright future could await BTCO and other spot bitcoin ETFs.
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