To say that spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have exceeded expectations in their first year on the market is an understatement at best. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that they shocked the industry to its core.
“How big was the first year of Bitcoin ETFs? » Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote about X. “MASSIVE.”
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had the most successful launch in U.S. ETF history, accumulating more than $52.3 billion in assets in its first year (a combination of large inflows and sharp rise in the price of bitcoin), according to Seyffart.
Three of the other spot Bitcoin ETFs – the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) – were also among the top 20 US ETF launches of all time.
The last twelve months in crypto have been “memorable,” said Matt Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity Investments. Indeed, FBTC is the money management giant’s largest exchange-traded product, with nearly $19 billion in assets under management, according to the company’s website.
“While we are optimistic about the launch of Bitcoin ETPs, demand has exceeded our expectations across all customer segments, including retail investors, advisors, institutions and beyond,” Horne said. “As these products have seen significant asset growth and are now one year old, we expect continued adoption by the advisor and institutional client segments. »
Where to go from here?
While some hedge funds or pension funds allocated modest amounts to cash ETFs, the majority of capital flows came from retail investors. However, this could change.
“The record flows occurred despite efforts by some U.S. communications firms, financial advisors and financial firms to prohibit employees from even owning bitcoin or altcoins in their personal wallets,” said Mark Connors, founder and strategist. Chief Investment Officer at Risk Dimensions at CoinDesk.
“With increased support from RIAs/Advisors and passthrough companies and a pricing tailwind, 2025 flows will easily exceed 2024 flows,” he added.
According to Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store, 2025 could be “the year of crypto ETFs”. He predicts that more than 50 additional crypto ETFs will be approved under the new leadership of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Solana and XRP spot funds, as well as options and stock-based products.
“Gary Gensler has always referred to crypto as the ‘Wild West,’ Geraci wrote in an article on The ETF Educator. “Under the Trump administration, I think that’s exactly what we’ll get from a crypto perspective. ETF.”
