ProShares’ Bitcoin ETF, BITO, registered a weekly inflow of $65 million, reflecting a renewed appetite from institutional investors for Bitcoin futures.
The enthusiasm surrounding Bitcoin BTC’s $30,435 ETF is resurging, evidenced by a flurry of new filings and increased capital injections from institutional investors.
On June 26, Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, noted a spike in inflows to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO)—a Bitcoin futures-oriented fund.
The fund experienced its highest weekly inflow in a year, totaling $65.3 million, causing its total assets to exceed $1 billion.
As the pioneer BTC-linked ETF in the United States, BITO has established a prominent standing among institutional investors.
According to Balchunas, BITO has closely mirrored Bitcoin’s performance, lagging behind spot prices by only 1.05% annually and carrying a fee of 0.95%.
Since the outset of 2023, BITO has achieved a 59.6% return, as reported by ProShares. An increase in Bitcoin derivatives interest has been witnessed industry-wide following BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF filing on June 15.
Data from the Deribit crypto options exchange reveals a marked rise in Bitcoin futures’ open interest (OI) since the previous week. As of June 25, the OI stands at $319 million, a nearly 30% hike from the same period the previous week.
OI represents the total number of unsettled futures contracts that remain outstanding.
This revitalization of ETF trading and the consequent BTC price rally have brought favorable outcomes for the world’s leading crypto asset manager, Grayscale. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has been experiencing a substantial discount to spot BTC prices for several months, is now moving in a positive direction as this discrepancy narrows.
Per Coinglass data, Grayscale’s premium, or its discount, is currently -31.2%. In December, it had plunged to a low of -49%.
While the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission remains uncertain, the race is intensifying in the wake of BlackRock’s recent filings.
For the third time, WisdomTree filed an application with the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Shortly after, Invesco renewed its plea for a comparable offering.
On June 25, ETF Store President Nate Geraci shared his watchlist of ETF issuers that are likely to file or refile for a spot Bitcoin ETF based on their past submissions. Geraci’s list included First Trust, VanEck, Global X, Fidelity, and the “dark horse,” Schwab.