The United States has witnessed the commencement of pre-market trading for its inaugural Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Thursday.
Leading the charge was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which soared impressively by 22.25% during pre-market trading, according to data from Yahoo Finance as reported by Cointelegraph.
Concurrently, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) entered pre-market trading with a notable gain of 2%, indicating the growing interest among investors in these newly approved financial products.
IBIT, with a substantial pre-market volume of $2 million, raised questions about BlackRock’s potential influence in driving this initial surge.
GBTC, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, added to the excitement surrounding the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
The approval of applications from major companies like BlackRock, Grayscale, and others by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paved the way for 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs to be listed and publicly traded.
Surprisingly, the price of Bitcoin remained relatively stable, hovering around $46,000, in response to the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
In contrast, fake news about the fund’s approval, which emerged after the SEC’s website was compromised, led to a more significant spike in the digital asset’s price.
IBIT drew significant attention as it embarked on an unprecedented journey, attracting an inflow of $3 billion on its inaugural trading day, according to Coindesk’s report citing crypto index provider CF Benchmarks.
Within the first half-hour of trading, the recently approved fund amassed $400 million in assets.
CF Benchmarks suggested that if this momentum continued, IBIT could potentially achieve a record-breaking $3 billion in assets under management by the end of its first trading day.
This achievement would signify the largest debut in ETF history, highlighting the strong demand from investors seeking regulated avenues to invest in Bitcoin.
Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, emphasized the ripple effects of IBIT’s success, anticipating increased demand that would prompt market makers to allocate more capital to support liquidity.
As these ETFs gain traction, they are poised to reshape the landscape of cryptocurrency investments in the United States, providing investors with new avenues to access and trade Bitcoin through regulated channels.