Nearly three weeks after the SEC approved spot BTC ETFs, BlackRock’s fund may surpass Grayscale in trades
Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $43,000 level and experienced a growth of over 2% in a single day after trading hours commenced in the U.S. on January 29. Within 24 hours, BTC’s trading volume surged by nearly 20% as the leading cryptocurrency aimed to recover from losses incurred during a 10% drop on January 22 when it fell below $40,000.
The significant decline earlier was attributed to selling pressure caused by outflows from GBTC, the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) offered by Grayscale, a crypto asset manager. In the first two weeks, GBTC outperformed ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity in terms of trading volume, with approximately $4 billion in outflows.
However, Bloomberg’s James Seyffart believes this trend might soon change. Data indicates that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had $2 million more in trades than Grayscale’s GBTC just under two hours after trading began.
Based on information from an Arkham Intelligence dashboard tracking issuer wallets, BlackRock currently holds over 52,000 Bitcoins valued at more than $2.1 billion.
While Grayscale had regained its lead in trading volume at the time of writing, BlackRock’s fund could become the first spot BTC ETF to surpass GBTC’s volume since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved this type of crypto-based investment product on January 10.
Another factor that may influence Bitcoin’s price movement is the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting of the Federal Reserve. The CME FedWatch tool suggests a 97.9% likelihood that the Fed will maintain its interest rates within the range of 5.25% to 5.5% and keep them on hold.
Hot Take: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) Could Overtake Grayscale’s GBTC in Trading Volume
With the recent approval of spot BTC ETFs by the SEC, BlackRock’s IBIT has emerged as a potential contender to surpass Grayscale’s GBTC in trading volume. While GBTC initially outpaced other ETFs, recent data shows that BlackRock’s fund has gained momentum and may become the first spot BTC ETF to outclass GBTC since its approval. With over 52,000 Bitcoins worth more than $2.1 billion, BlackRock holds a strong position in the market. As Bitcoin continues to recover from recent losses and regain its bullish momentum, all eyes are on these two prominent players in the cryptocurrency investment space.
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