Coinspeaker
Bybit: Bitcoin ETF Approval Marks Watershed Moment for Investors
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said on Tuesday that the recent approval of the first spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States represents a “watershed moment” for retail investors.
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted approval to 11 prominent financial companies, including Grayscale Investments, Ark Invest, and BlackRock, enabling them to introduce spot-BTC ETFs to their customers.
This move marked a historic integration of crypto-related products with the traditional finance industry in America.
Bybit said in a blog post on January 16 that the introduction of such investment products into the market is poised to “transform institutional participation” in the digital asset space, currently valued around $1.6 trillion.
Unlocked Barriers for Retail Investors
The company’s head of brand knowledge, Bryan Aaron, disclosed that the approval of these products significantly reduced the barriers for retail investors entering the emerging economy.
“It allows retail investors to gain real exposure to BTC without the complexity or direct cryptocurrency ownership… making accessibility pretty simple, and it really lowers the barriers for the retail investor to enter the cryptocurrency space,” said Aaron.
The exchange anticipates that the regulatory oversight and streamlined tax reporting mechanisms associated with BTC ETFs will contribute to enhancing the appeal of the new investment vehicles.
The increased oversight is expected to be a critical factor for traditional funds contemplating allocations to crypto. The company believes the regulatory oversight not only strengthened BTC’s attractiveness to institutional investors but also offered a sense of security and familiarity to them.
“Bitcoin spot ETF offers an extra layer of security and brings legitimacy. For retail investors, they feel a lot more comfortable and more confident in investing in these kinds of financial products overseen by financial authorities,” said Eugene Cheung, head of Bybit Institutional.
BTC Spot ETFs Saw an Inflow of $1.18 Billion
Since the launch of the BTC ETFs last week, the industry has recorded a significant inflow of BTC products compared to other ETFs in the market.
On January 13, Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, stated in a post on X that the nine BTC ETFs, out of the total 11 that received approval from the SEC, attracted close to $1.5 billion in new capital during the initial two days of trading on the stock market.
BlackRock’s iShares ETF took the lead, emerging as the strongest performer with nearly half a billion dollars in capital during the first two days of trading.
Fidelity’s ETF closely trailed behind, taking the second position with inflow surpassing $422 million, while Bitwise claimed the third position with $237 million. On the other hand, WisdomTree’s ETF had more modest results, attracting only $1 million in inflows.
In separate data provided by CoinShares, the new digital asset investment products saw a total inflow of $1.18 billion last week following the approval of the BTC ETFs.
Despite the massive inflow, the figure was below the $1.5 billion recorded in October 2021 after the first BTC futures ETFs approval. In terms of regional performance, the United States dominated with an inflow of $1.24 billion, followed by Switzerland, which recorded $21 million in inflows.
Bybit: Bitcoin ETF Approval Marks Watershed Moment for Investors
