Bitcoin ETF roars in debut with US$145M of trading volume

North America’s first bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its first day of trading, with investors exchanging us$145 million worth of shares.

After a relentless surge in the world’s largest digital currency, the first bitcoin product that’s officially labelled an exchange-traded fund debuted Thursday in Toronto — although europe has several crypto-tracking products that function like an ETF. The Purpose bitcoin ETF (ticker BTCC) invests directly in “physical/digital bitcoin,” issuer Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement.

The cryptocurrency has captivated investors from billionaire elon Musk to hedge-fund moguls including Alan Howard and Paul Tudor Jones. It may well be “the stimulus asset,” doubleline Capital LP chief Jeffrey

Gundlach tweeted, in a reference to bitcoin’s rally amid a wave of cash pumped into the financial system during the pandemic. While the digital asset has already surged fivefold in the past year — spurring concern about a speculative froth in global markets — it’s grabbing more mainstream attention, especially after Tesla Inc.’s recent us$1.5 billion purchase.

It’s unclear how much of the activity in BTCC will result in inflows for the fund, but the trading volumes are well above an etf’s typical first day in Canada, according to bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart. Although too early to tell, ETF proponents argue that such a fund will trade without the massive premiums plaguing many current bitcoin trusts in the u.s.

“There’s sizable untapped interest for a bitcoin investment that has the benefits of an ETF,” said Todd rosenbluth, CFRA research’s director of ETF research, adding it’s unlikely the fund will trade at a significant premium-to-net-asset-value. “While most etfs come to market globally with an educational hurdle to overcome, many investors are familiar with what is inside BTCC,” he noted.

The u.s. currently has several active filings for a bitcoin ETF, including the ones from Vaneck Associates Corp. and bitwise Asset Management, but the price swings notorious in cryptocurrencies and allegations of industry manipulation remain hurdles to regulator approval. Still, with the world’s largest digital trading near all-time highs and a change of leadership at the Securities and exchange Commission, analysts say the prospect of a first American bitcoin ETF appears to be rising.