Spot Bitcoin ETFs One Year After US Launch: Here’s How Funds Have Fared So Far

The introduction of Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States marked a historic milestone for the cryptocurrency market. These Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which first went live in the US on January 11, 2024, have had massive success in just one year, making them the greatest ETF launch in history.

As it stands, US-based Spot Bitcoin ETFs have now become one of the major drivers of Bitcoin’s price growth and played a huge role in Bitcoin’s break above $100,000. Furthermore, these US-based Spot Bitcoin ETFs are now collectively the biggest holders of Bitcoin.

For years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) resisted the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, making their eventual approval in January 2024 a notable turning point for the crypto industry. Particularly, the SEC approved the first 11 Spot Bitcoin ETF applications on January 10, 2024.

All the Spot Bitcoin ETFs have demonstrated a positive performance in their inaugural year except for Grayscale’s GBTC. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs was met with record-breaking enthusiasm, as these funds registered the highest trading volumes of any ETF launch in history during their first few days of operation.

Apart from opening the Bitcoin and crypto industry to traditional investors who would otherwise not invest in cryptocurrencies, many large Bitcoin holders also saw the ETFs as the best way to invest in order to take advantage of their regulatory clarity.

Particularly, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund have led the charge with substantial inflows throughout the year. These two funds quickly established themselves as dominant players, with each witnessing over $3 billion in inflows within their first 20 days of trading.

At the time of writing, US-based Spot Bitcoin ETFs now collectively control about $107.64 billion in Bitcoin assets, which represents about 5.75% of the total Bitcoin market cap, according to data from SoSoValue. Since they began trading one year ago, these ETFs have witnessed a cumulative total net inflow of $36.22 billion.

In terms of cumulative net inflows, the IBIT has witnessed the highest inflow amount in the tune of $37.67 billion, while FBTC follows behind with $12.16 billion. These two have been enough to balance the $21.57 net outflows from the pre-existing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which was converted to a Spot Bitcoin ETF. 

Other ETF providers have also witnessed cummulative net inflows in the past year, with ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF also at $2.49 billion and $2.43 billion, respectively, at the time of writing. However, the remaining seven ETF providers have yet to cross the $1 billion threshold in cumulative net inflows, indicating a more uneven distribution of investor interest across the industry.

The only way for Spot Bitcoin ETFs is up, especially on the longer timeframe in 2025 and beyond. Crypto investors are optimistic about a significant influx of capital into these ETFs in anticipation of crypto-positive policies to be introduced by the incoming Trump administration.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $94,057.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView