As the movement in the Spot Bitcoin ETF market continues, BlackRock’s ETF, IBIT, with a total asset exceeding $10 billion, stands out as the dominant force in the market. Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are reported to have started offering spot Bitcoin ETF products to their clients.
According to Reuters, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo have been offering spot Bitcoin ETF products for some time. A source close to BoA mentioned in the report stated that the financial institution has been facilitating ETF trading for eligible clients for weeks. Wells Fargo, in an email statement, mentioned that spot Bitcoin ETFs could be purchased through the WellsTrade platform or with the assistance of an advisor.
The increasing popularity of spot Bitcoin ETFs since the SEC approval in January has led to a rapid demand, while, on the other hand, there has been a significant decrease in demand for gold ETFs. This shift has fueled the price increase in Bitcoin, resulting in its best monthly performance since December 2020.
Currently, there are 11 asset management companies approved for the issuance of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the market, with financial institutions lining up to facilitate the sale of these products. Aside from Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, this week brought a new development stating that Morgan Stanley might consider evaluating the spot ETF product by making a language change in its European Opportunity Fund.
BlackRock’s IBIT ETF Surpasses $10 Billion
As the wave of Spot Bitcoin ETFs continues, BlackRock’s ETF product, IBIT, surpassed $10 billion in assets under management (AuM) as of yesterday. In Bitcoin terms, IBIT currently holds approximately 162,000 BTC under management. Following closely is Fidelity’s FBTC product with around $6.3 billion and 105,000 BTC.
According to recent reports, there are currently 9 active Bitcoin ETFs, excluding GBTC, with a total value of $21 billion and 344,000 BTC. Looking separately at Grayscale’s GBTC product, which has been converted into an ETF, the fund has experienced a decrease of about 30%, holding 432,000 BTC worth $27 billion, down from its 619,000 BTC holdings before its conversion to an ETF.
While GBTC redemptions have been on a downward trend in recent weeks, this week has seen an increase in outflows. According to BitMEX Research, redemptions from GBTC were close to $600 million yesterday, matching the $610 million inflows into IBIT. Thus, the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. market recorded a net inflow of $92.4 million yesterday, following a significant drop after Wednesday’s record net inflow of $673.2 million.
source: tr.investing.com/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç