Record-breaking $7.7B worth of Bitcoin ETFs traded, setting new volume highs

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have achieved a significant milestone, surpassing the previous record for trading volumes by more than one and a half times. On February 28, the ten ETFs collectively witnessed a trading volume of $7.69 billion, as reported by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on X. This figure exceeds the previous record of $4.66 billion, which was set on the launch day of the funds on January 11. Notably, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) accounted for 43.5% of the total trading volume, reaching $3.35 billion and doubling its previous daily record. This amount is approximately equivalent to the trading volume of all ten ETFs combined on the previous day, February 27. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) secured the second position with a trading volume of $1.86 billion, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) claimed third place with $1.44 billion, also doubling its volume record. When combined, the volumes of GBTC and FBTC contribute to around 43% of the total volume. Bloomber analyst Eric Balchunas noted that, apart from Grayscale’s fund, the nine new ETFs surpassed their previous record within half a trading day. By the end of the trading day, these ETFs had more than doubled their volume record, reaching approximately $5.8 billion, as further stated by Balchunas. He also mentioned that the number of trades between these ETFs exceeded half a million individual transactions. Balchunas added that market makers revealed the volume primarily represents “natural demand” rather than algorithmic or arbitrage trading volume, which he had previously speculated. This record-breaking volume coincided with a surge in the price of Bitcoin, which increased by over 10% to reach a two-year high of $64,000. Although it retraced to as low as $60,000, it has since slightly recovered and is currently trading above $62,000. On the other hand, GBTC experienced net outflows of $216.4 million on February 28, according to preliminary data from Farside Investors. This marks the fund’s highest outflow day since January 30, when it witnessed outflows of $220.7 million, and is a record for the month of February so far.