First Bitcoin ETF trades $1.5B as GBTC ‘discount’ echoes $69K BTC price

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<p>Bitcoin (BTC) institutional investment vehicles are seeing a major volume boost as excitement over possible United States regulatory changes takes hold.</p>
<p>Data from resources, including Bloomberg, showed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and others nearing record weekly inflows.</p>
<h2>BITO, GBTC trade $2.5 billion </h2>
<p>Hints that the U.S. might soon allow a Bitcoin spot price-based ETF have not only impacted BTC price action — the surrounding ecosystem has benefitted in kind.</p>
<p>In addition to exchanges and mining firms, embattled institutional investment options are also seeing a resurgence in demand.</p>
<p>As noted by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, at least two household names saw “notable” volume in the trading week through Oct. 27.</p>
<p>Among them was the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the first futures-based ETF to get the green light in the U.S. in 2021.</p>
<p>“$BITO traded $1.7b last week, 2nd biggest week since its wild WEEK ONE,” Balchunas wrote in part of commentary on X (formerly Twitter).</p>
<p>He noted that the stalwart Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) fetched $800 million in volume, helping reduce its discount to the Bitcoin spot price to two-year lows.</p>
<p>“That’s $2.5b (top 1% among ETFs) into two less desirable methods (vs spot) for exposure = while we think spot ETFs unlikely to set records on DAY ONE, clearly there’s an audience,” the X post concluded.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Notable: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BITO&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$BITO</a> traded $1.7b last week, 2nd biggest week since its wild WEEK ONE. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24GBTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$GBTC</a> did $800m. That’s $2.5b (top 1% among ETFs) into two less desirable methods (vs spot) for exposure = while we think spot ETFs unlikely to set records on DAY ONE, clearly there’s an audience <a href="https://t.co/6bFYtE0UoR">pic.twitter.com/6bFYtE0UoR</a></p>
<p>— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricBalchunas/status/1718274151331602933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Others also picked up on the data, with William Clemente, co-founder of crypto research firm Reflexivity, <a href="https://twitter.com/WClementeIII/status/1716816265606823987" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">describing</a> ETF trading as “back in full steam.“</p>
<h2>Legacy finance could “know something we don’t yet”</h2>
<p>As Cointelegraph reported, GBTC has seen a remarkable comeback in recent months, even prior to BTC/USD gaining 15% last week.</p>
<p><strong><em>Related: US court issues mandate for Grayscale ruling, paving way for SEC to review spot Bitcoin ETF</em></strong></p>
<p>Legal victories on the long road to gaining permission to convert GBTC into a spot ETF provided kindling, and Grayscale’s product now trades with an implied share price, which is just 13.1% below the BTC spot price.</p>
<p>Per data from monitoring resource CoinGlass, this is the lowest since November 2021, when Bitcoin itself was at all-time highs.</p>
<p>“The GBTC discount keeps narrowing,” popular Bitcoin and altcoin trader Mister Crypto meanwhile <a href="https://twitter.com/misterrcrypto/status/1718245982335545357" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">responded</a>. </p>
<blockquote><p>“Maybe TradFi knows something we don’t know yet…”</p></blockquote>
<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-10/fc35867c-264f-42db-8d8f-64dab772b0d8.png" /><figcaption><em>GBTC premium vs. asset holdings vs. BTC/USD chart (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Despite this, investment management firm ARK Invest has reduced its GBTC holdings in step with the share price gains.</p>
<p>While ARK itself plans a Bitcoin spot ETF launch, GBTC now accounts for 10.24% of its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF — its first change since November 2022.</p>
<p>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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<br /><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/first-bitcoin-etf-trades-gbtc-discount-69k-btc-price">Source link </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://forextraderhub.com/first-bitcoin-etf-trades-1-5b-as-gbtc-discount-echoes-69k-btc-price.html">First Bitcoin ETF trades $1.5B as GBTC ‘discount’ echoes $69K BTC price</a> first appeared on <a href="https://forextraderhub.com">Forex Trader Hub</a>.</p>