Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US saw their biggest single-day net inflows since early June, with a whopping $556 million on October 14, 2024. This overwhelming surge marks increasing investor interest and a fresh faith in the cryptocurrency market, once more. This wave of investments only fueled the market momentum, in line with a broader narrative around institutional participation towards digital assets alongside rising Bitcoin prices. This latest rally is a significant milestone for Bitcoin ETFs and further underlines that they are one of the major tools by which cryptocurrencies have entered mainstream investment.
Record Highs and Investor Confidence
In all, net inflows into the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs totaled a strong $555.9 million, buoyed by the resurgence of Bitcoin itself to a two-week high of $66,500 late in the trading session. The sudden rise in value and, subsequently, the heavy flow of capital have turned the attention of retail and institutional investors toward it, indicating a strong recovery of the cryptocurrency market.
The day was a “monster day for spot Bitcoin ETFs,” said Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store. In his opinion, these funds have now gathered almost $20 billion in net inflows in the last ten months, higher than all pre-launch demand estimates for Bitcoin ETFs. Geraci also believes that the latest inflows into the funds are less speculative and show a growing interest by advisers and institutional investors in cryptocurrencies.
Leading ETFs and Notable Performers
Among the Bitcoin ETFs, the leading inflows were into the Fidelity Wise Bitcoin Origin Fund, or FBTC, at 239.3 million, the largest since June 4. The heavy inflow into the FBTC suggests a leap in investor confidence for the fund. Second in place was the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, with about just over $100 million in inflows. Noticeably, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust notched inflows of $79.6 million, suggesting especially high demand for Bitcoin exposure among institutional investors.
Other notable inflows included the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, with intake of just under $70 million, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust recorded its first inflow for October at $37.8 million, the highest since early May. These kinds of diverse inflows bring out growth in appetite for the different types of Bitcoin ETF products as investors look to take advantage of the cryptocurrency rise.
In a comparative analysis, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that Bitcoin ETFs are increasingly receiving attention similar to the ones tracking gold. The asset achieved an all-time high five separate times since January, when the first Bitcoin ETFs went live. By contrast, gold has hit a record high 30 times this year, and yet, gold ETFs have attracted a net $1.4 billion in inflows. That is in sharp contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, which have had over $19 billion in net inflows as investors slowly but surely shift their preference for Bitcoin over more conventional safe-haven assets such as gold.
Whereas great momentum was built up in Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum funds, on the other hand, have struggled to garner investor interest. There were reportedly zero net flows for the popular Ethereum funds by Bitwise, VanEck, Franklin, and Grayscale, and only minor inflows were recorded for Fidelity and Invesco. On the other side, BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust inflows amounted to $14.3 mln and took it to $17 mln, but that number is minuscule compared to the explosive growth of Bitcoin ETFs.
Outlook for the Cryptocurrency Market
The differing fortunes of the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could prove wider market sentiment, with investors moving into Bitcoin as prices recently rallied upwards. Both retail and institutional buying have combined to lead to growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets. All in all, the record inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs on October 14 really mark the moment when extraordinary capital has been pumped into these investment vehicles, especially when Bitcoin reached new highs.
This sea-change in investor demographics- from speculative retail to more experienced advisers and institutional investors- finds that this market is maturing, with a clearer understanding of the emerging mainstream potential of Bitcoin as an investable asset. It will be very interesting to see how this trend will play out in such detail within a developing cryptocurrency landscape and at what time in the near future also. Ethereum and other virtual currencies will be able to attract investors’ attention this way.
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