Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) have reached a significant milestone, surpassing 1 million BTC in holdings worldwide. Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in mid-January, these investment vehicles have accumulated a total of 855,619 BTC, averaging around 6,200 BTC per day.
In addition to the 11 ETFs in the US, there are 21 more Bitcoin ETPs available in countries such as Canada, Germany, and Brazil. These additional products have pushed the total BTC holdings to 1,002,343, which is estimated to be worth about $68 billion. This represents approximately 5.08% of the current circulating supply of Bitcoin, which is 19,704,484 coins according to CoinGecko.
Grayscale’s GBTC remains the largest fund holding Bitcoin, with 289,040 BTC valued at around $19.9 billion. However, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is quickly catching up, currently holding 287,168 BTC worth approximately $19.8 billion. If inflows into IBIT continue steadily and GBTC continues to see outflows, IBIT may surpass GBTC as the largest fund this week.
Since the conversion of GBTC into a spot ETF in mid-January, Grayscale has experienced a significant outflow of Bitcoin, losing around 330,960 BTC, which accounts for 53% of its previous holdings.
There are concerns that the increasing popularity of ETPs may be slowing the growth of Bitcoin held in self-custody. A chart showing the amount of BTC held in different addresses indicates that there has been no growth in self-custody from 2023 to 2024. However, it is worth noting that there was also no growth observed between 2017 and 2018.
Currently, there are only 1 million addresses that hold 1 BTC or more, according to LookIntoBitcoin. This suggests that a relatively small number of individuals or entities hold a significant portion of the Bitcoin supply.
The growing presence of Bitcoin ETPs and the legal battles faced by regulatory bodies like the SEC in the crypto industry have been compared to the epic clash between Godzilla and Kong, highlighting the fierce nature of the ongoing debate over cryptocurrency regulations.
Overall, the rise of Bitcoin ETPs and the increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin investments have had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, with billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin now held in these investment vehicles globally.