On the initial day of spot bitcoin ETF trading, Bitwise Asset Management outperformed expectations by attracting the highest inflows among the 11 products that hit the market following SEC approval. Based in San Francisco, Bitwise saw an impressive $237.9 million in inflows, contributing significantly to the overall $721 million generated by all issuers within the first 24 hours.
Following Bitwise, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and iShares Bitcoin Trust secured the second and third spots, accumulating $226.9 million and $111.6 million in inflows, respectively. This debut marked a notable shift in sentiment, indicating a substantial demand for a product tied to the price of bitcoin, the leading digital asset in terms of market capitalization.
The opening day’s activities surpassed analysts’ predictions, with $4.7 billion in trading volume, exceeding the anticipated $4 billion. While the initial inflows seemed slightly underwhelming, ETF.com analyst Sumit Roy suggests that the data is not complete, and the numbers could see an upward adjustment in the coming days.
Roy noted that the short-term nature of the trading activity on the first day implies a keen interest among investors. However, he highlighted the anticipation among longer-term bitcoin enthusiasts who expect significant inflows, possibly reaching tens or hundreds of billions of dollars over the next one to five years. Anything falling short of this expectation would be considered a disappointment by these investors.
Bitwise, standing out not just for its performance but also its fee structure, waived fees for the first six months and plans to charge only 0.20% thereafter, making it the second-lowest fee among issuers. Hunter Horsley, the CEO of Bitwise, expressed confidence in the market, expecting substantial demand for their bitcoin ETF, BITB.
Other notable performers in terms of inflows included Ark21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and Franklin Bitcoin ETF, securing the fourth and fifth positions with $65.3 million and $50.1 million in inflows, respectively.
