Spot Bitcoin ETF Inflows Dwarf Gold ETFs First Year: Binance Research

Less than a year after their launch, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen unprecedented growth, fueling investor interest and demand for the big cryptocurrency.

According to a recent report from Binance Research, the research arm of the global cryptocurrency exchange, bitcoin ETFs hold more than 938,000 BTC, worth $63.3 billion. This figure represents 4.5% of the total Bitcoin circulation. Adding the amount held in other similar currencies brings the figure to 1.1 million BTC, which is approximately 5.2% of the circulating supply.

Notably, a fraction of the total assets under management (AUM) in these funds was collected in the first few months of their launch. However, the report indicated that the inflows into the fund remained steady throughout the year, indicating continued investor interest.

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Bitcoin ETFs attract $18.9B in revenue

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have fueled interest in the crypto asset over the past few months. As a result, the funds removed an average of 1,100 BTC from the market every day.

Additionally, the funds recorded positive inflows in 24 out of 40 weeks, outperforming the value of inflows by a wide margin. Over the past 10 months, Bitcoin ETFs have received cumulative inflows of more than $21 billion.

According to the report, Bitcoin ETF inflows have outperformed the first gold ETF, which currently has an AUM of $130.9 billion. The gold ETF was considered a huge success when it generated $1.5 billion in revenue in its first year in 2005. However, Bitcoin ETF inflows broke that record, hitting more than $21 billion in 10 months.

BlackRock's IBIT, Grayscale's GBTC and Fidelity's FBTC account for 84% of the total ETF market. Entry into IBIT is based on the net number of ETF entries to date.

Interest of retail investors

The report indicated that retail investors account for 80% of bitcoin ETF demand. Despite low institutional demand, it has shown consistent growth over the past few months, up 7.9% since Q1.

The number of institutional investors has also increased, currently over 1,200. Major institutional owners include investment advisers and hedge funds, as well as major banks and pension funds such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the Wisconsin Investment Board.

Institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs is expected to increase in the coming years as investors become more comfortable with digital assets. This is especially true given that bitcoin's correlation with the S&P 500 has continued to rise since early 2024, indicating a shift in investor attitudes toward BTC as a safe-haven asset.

Unfortunately, while Bitcoin ETFs have grown, their Ethereum counterparts have received little attention. The funds recorded more than $103.1 million in outflows, with negative inflows in eight of the 11 weeks since launch.