Bitcoin's Institutional Appeal Skyrockets, Propels This Futures ETF To Peak Asset Holdings

ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO peaked at a high of $1.47 billion in Assets under Management (AuM) this week, up from $850 million as of Oct.12, 2023, breaking its record dating back to December 2021.

Driven by a resurgence in institutional interest in Bitcoin from regulated and accredited investors, the ETF reached new AuM heights, further buoyed by the recent filings for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.

“We believe this speaks to the demand for a familiar, accessible, and regulated way to target the returns of bitcoin,” Simeon Hyman, global investment strategist at ProShares said, as reported by CoinDesk.

Why It Matters: BITO’s average daily trading volume of $160 million makes it among the top 5% of all the U.S. ETFs, Hyman added.

After peaking at $1.42 billion in assets in November 2021, BITO assets narrowed to $500 million in November 2022 after the FTX collapse. However, with renewed interest in crypto, the fund experienced a significant expansion in AuM levels.

If the SEC approves spot Bitcoin ETFs, BITO is likely to experience more competition. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas in an interview reported by Blockworks said that “BITO is the ETF that’s probably going to be sort of under pressure, or seeing some exodus, once the spot ETFs come out, because people prefer those. But until then, it’s being used in anticipation of those ETFs.”

Price Action: Bitcoin BTC/USD prices are up 9% in the last month, part of a 120% surge over the past year.

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