First US Bitcoin ETF Attracts $570M In Debut

The launch of the first U.S. bitcoin-related ETF went off with a bang, hardly the whimper some predicted.

The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) saw historic volume in its first day of trading, reaching nearly $1 billion in volume in today’s debut.

But volume doesn’t equate to assets under management, and BITO had heavy asset flows, ending the day with $570 million of assets under management, according to a press release from ProShares released after markets closed today.

Pent-Up Demand Real

The volume traded, as well as assets gathered by end of day, suggests that there was significant pent-up investor demand for a U.S. bitcoin ETF—of any kind, futures or not. BITO started with seed capital of $20 million, meaning there were $550 million in net inflows for the day, according to ProShares.

As the first to market, ProShares likely has a significant advantage in terms of gathering assets and investor interest.

Though further bitcoin futures ETF approvals are likely to come soon—maybe this week—time will tell whether other ETFs will see the same interest from investors.

BITO is already in the top 30% of ETFs by assets under management after only one day of trading, according to Bloomberg.

Contact Jessica Ferringer at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter.