US Bitcoin ETFs reach record high with 950,000 BTC in AuM

The eleven US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now hold more than 950,000 BTC worth of assets under management following massive inflows of funds. Vetle Lunde, head of Research at K33 Research, shared the data on X, noting that the current AUM marks an all-time high for the ETFs.

Over the last three days between October 14 and 16, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $1 billion in inflows. Leading the inflow is BlackRock IBIT, which recorded $761.7 million in inflows within that period and accounts for almost 70% of the inflows into spot BTC ETFs during that time, according to Farside Investors data.

Other spot ETFs such as Fidelity FBTC, Bitwise BITB, and Ark Invest ARKB also recorded significant volumes at $289.1 million, $113.8 million, and $96 million, respectively. These three ETFs have also enjoyed four consecutive days of substantial inflows as they recorded a combined $253.5 million inflows on October 11, when BlackRock IBIT had zero flows.

With most of the ETFs seeing inflows on October 16 and none reporting any outflow, only WisdomTree BTCW and the Grayscale Bitcoin products finished the day with zero flows per Farside Investors data. The massive inflows into these ETFs have attracted the attention of several experts, including ETF Institute founder Nate Geraci.

Geraci said:

“For context, only 8 out of 560+ ETFs launched in 2024 have taken in more than $1bil for the year.”

BlackRock’s IBIT has $22.4 billion in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with over $10 billion in positive flows. Other issuers, Bitwise BITB and Ark 21 Shares ARKB have around $5 billion in cumulative flows.

However, the impressive flows into these Bitcoin ETFs were impacted by Grayscale’s GBTC which has seen net outflows of over $20 billion.

US Bitcoin ETFs dominate global ETPs

With US-listed spot ETFs alone nearing a million Bitcoin in AUM, BTC exchange-traded products (ETPs) globally have exceeded more than 1.2 million BTC for the first time. While this highlights the growing demand for Bitcoin investment products globally, North America, particularly the US, is the dominant player.

A new report by Chainanalysis confirmed this, noting that North America is responsible for 22.5% of global crypto activity, with an on-chain value of $1.3 trillion. Bitcoin ETFs are responsible for most of these, with around 70% of all crypto transfers in the region being over a million dollars. This shows that institutional players dominate the crypto markets in North America.

Chainanalysis cybercrime research lead, Eric Jardine observed that the arrival of traditional financial institutions through ETFs made a big difference and will likely drive adoption on other levels. He noted that other major financial institutions and even individuals globally could also be interested in crypto, particularly Bitcoin, now that it is designated as an asset class.

Institutional interest propels BTC price

The recent inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and other factors have been responsible for a dominant performance by BTC. The flagship asset has risen by 10% in the last seven days, briefly testing $68,000 earlier today before falling back to $67,000.

Despite its price correction, sentiments remain relatively positive for good reasons. Institutional interest remains very high, with open interest for BTC on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) now at a notional high of 179,745 BTC.

Lunde noted:

“Open interest has grown by a massive 32,440 BTC since October 10 – and active market participants drive this growth, seeing a weekly growth in exposure of 40%.”

Such interest inevitably translates into higher prices and could continue to drive up BTC prices if sustained.

Also, former Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes believes other factors that could increase BTC prices include rising tensions in the Middle East and cuts in interest rates. As he noted in his blog post, “Bitcoin and crypto will rise as energy prices spike higher.”