A long awaited batch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is already influencing the way crypto markets function, just two months after they launched in the US on Jan. 11.
The spot Bitcoin ETFs brought to market by the likes of BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments have already drawn net inflows of about $10 billion, while helping to push the price of the token they track to record highs. Bitcoin topped $72,900 for the first time on Tuesday, before pulling back to around $70,000.
While the impact of the ETFs on price is clear, they are also responsible for subtler changes in the way Bitcoin is traded. Their advent is bringing crypto trading patterns more closely into line with those seen in traditional markets.
Trading volumes for the 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs launched on Jan. 11 began to pick up considerably in late February, in line with Bitcoin’s surge. On March 5 alone, $10.4 billion out of a total $61 billion in spot Bitcoin trading volumes went to ETF products.
ETFs are gradually improving liquidity for spot Bitcoin traders, after a slump known as the ‘Alameda gap’ triggered by the demise of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed exchange, and its sister firm Alameda Research.
Market depth — the crypto market’s ability to absorb relatively large orders without major price ructions — has improved since the Bitcoin ETFs launched.
“Bitcoin liquidity has improved notably over the past two months and is up roughly 60% since the approval of spot ETFs in early January. Both market makers and traders have returned to the market with BTC 2% depth now nearing its pre-FTX levels in US dollar terms,” Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert told Bloomberg over email.
The arrival of ETFs, and the institutional investors they’ve enticed, has also changed the hours an average crypto trader works. Crypto has traditionally been viewed as a 24/7 market, with assets traded day and night, throughout the week.
The chart above demonstrates a flurry of activity around the time traditional markets close, when the net-asset values of ETFs are fixed.
“Over 55% of Bitcoin trading against the US dollar now occurs during US hours, up from 47% last year, with nearly 90% taking place on weekdays,” Aubert said.
Before the spot ETFs were approved, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy and ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy — two Bitcoin futures-based ETFs — made up about 84% of the trading volume for US crypto-linked exchange traded products. That’s now down to 16% in March as the 10 spot ETFs, that offer a lower fee compared to the ProShares products, now amount close to 80% of the trading volumes.
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