US spot bitcoin ETFs top half a trillion dollars in cumulative trading volume less than a year after launch

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds surpassed half a trillion dollars in cumulative trading volume on Wednesday — less than a year after their debut.

Spot bitcoin ETF cumulative trading volume grew swiftly since launching in January, reaching the $100 billion mark by March and $200 billion by April as bitcoin rose to reach new all-time highs of nearly $74,000 for the first time earlier this year.

However, the trading volume trajectory then slowed slightly amid a cooling-off phase for the crypto market that saw bitcoin consolidate in a range between $50,000 and $70,000 for the next seven months — until breaking out to reach new all-time highs again following pro-crypto Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election victory on Nov. 6.

By the close of trading yesterday, the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had reached a cumulative volume of $505.4 billion, according to The Block’s data dashboard . While the metric is up only in nature, it still represents a significant milestone for the new bitcoin funds, competing against some of the largest and most established ETF products in the world, including the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 Index.

BlackRock’s IBIT hits record daily trading volume

The half-a-trillion dollar level was surpassed after the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs generated a combined $7.9 billion in trading volume on Wednesday alone — the fourth-largest trading day since launch and the biggest since the prior volume peak in March.

BlackRock’s IBIT spot bitcoin ETF has dominated volume of late, registering a record $5.2 billion in trading on Wednesday, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale's GBTC with $1.2 billion and $670 million in trading volume for the day, respectively.

“I thought things were cooling off, but no, IBIT just saw $5 billion in volume today for the first time ever,” Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on Wednesday. “Only 3 ETFs and 8 stocks saw more action today. Up to $13 billion in 3 days this week. Its peers are seeing heightened volume too but on a smaller scale. FBTC did $1 billion, the biggest day since March.”

IBIT’s market share by volume has snowballed in recent months, rising from around 15% in January, as Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund initially dominated trading, to 67% as of Wednesday.

Despite gaining less traction than their bitcoin counterparts, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, launched in July, have also seen a resurgence in volume, generating $702 million in trading on Wednesday to reach $22.3 billion in cumulative volume .

Bitcoin ETFs clock up another $500 million in daily net inflows

Amid the rising trading volume, the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs also witnessed another day of more than half a billion dollars of net inflows, adding $510.1 million on Wednesday to clock up $2.4 billion this week alone.

BlackRock’s IBIT also led the net inflows, adding $230.8 million. Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s mini ETF, BTC, took second and third, with $186.1 million and $61.3 million in net inflows on Wednesday, respectively.

Following a six-day streak of positive flows, the bitcoin ETFs have added $4.7 billion since Trump’s election victory, with total net inflows since trading began now standing at $28.3 billion, according to data compiled by The Block.

"Another $500+ million into spot bitcoin ETFs today," The ETF Store President Nate Geraci said . "6 straight days of inflows totaling $4.7 billion. Quickly approaching $30 billion net inflows since January launch. Simply ridiculous."

Combined with the recent price rise, the spot bitcoin ETFs now account for around $89 billion in assets under management, according to The Block’s Bitcoin ETF Tracker Page , led by BlackRock’s IBIT with $41.1 billion in AUM.

“JUGGERNAUT: IBIT has hit the $40 billion asset mark (a mere two weeks after hitting $30 billion) in a record 211 days, annihilating the previous record of 1,253 days held by IEMG,” Balchunas said on Wednesday. “It's now in the top 1% of all ETFs by assets and at 10 months old it is bigger than all 2,800 ETFs launched in the past TEN years.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs added $146.9 million worth of net inflows on Wednesday, led by Fidelity’s FETH with $101.7 million then BlackRock’s ETHA on $35.6 million. The Ethereum funds have added $578.3 million this week, $796.2 million since the U.S. election result and $248.7 million in total net inflows since launch, having finally overcome substantial initial outflows from Grayscale’s converted and higher-fee fund, ETHE, on Tuesday.

“IMO, nothing more interesting in asset management right now than the intersection of crypto and ETFs,” Geraci said . “Involves largest asset managers, politicians, regulators, everyone. Remember, ETFs are simply a bridge for mainstream access to crypto. Once that bridge is fully built, no going back.”

Bitcoin price surges above $90,000

Bitcoin is currently trading for $90,738, according to The Block’s Bitcoin Price Page , having surged to over $93,000 at one point on Wednesday. The foremost cryptocurrency is up 3.4% over the past 24 hours, more than 20% in the last week and 115% year-to-date. 

The GMCI 30 index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, is up nearly 5% over the past day to 163.57, gaining 22% in the last week and around 65% in 2024.