Bitwise CIO Says Investment Advisors Adopting BTC ETFs Faster Than Any Fund in History

By Aaron Feuerstein September 10, 2024 In Bitcoin, ETFs
Bitcoin ETF image
Source:AdobeStock
  • Recent trading days have witnessed over US$700 million in net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs.
  • A brief respite occurred with US$34.6 million in net inflows, despite missing data from major funds like IBIT.
  • Matt Hougan claims Bitcoin ETFs are adopted faster than any in history, overshadowed by larger investor purchases.
  • Investment advisors’ allocations are significant, making Bitcoin ETFs among the fastest-growing despite their small share of total inflows.

As reported earlier, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are experiencing ongoing losses, with the past few trading days seeing over US$700 million (AU$1,046M) in net outflows.

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According to data from Farside, this seems to have stopped for the moment, with US$34.6 million (AU$52 million) more coming into the funds than leaving them – based on available data, note that at the time of writing, data for IBIT (by far the largest fund) and BTCO, BRRR, HODL and BTCW are not available.

Bitcoin ETF flows, source: Farside.co.uk

Bitcoin ETFs Fastest Adoption in ETF History

And if Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan is to be believed, those outflows shouldn’t distract us from the success of these funds. As Hougan puts it:

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The truth is that investment advisors are adopting bitcoin ETFs faster than any other ETF in history. It is just that their historic flows are overshadowed by the even-more-historic purchases of other investors.

Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO

Hougan explained that the IBIT ETF, for example, has received US$1.45 billion (AU$2.2 bn) in net flows from investment advisors, which in another post macro strategist Jim Bianco had considered “small” in comparison to the US$46 billion (AU$69.2 bn) total inflow into Bitcoin ETFs.

However, Hougan countered:

Jim is wrong here: Investment advisors are adopting bitcoin ETFs faster than any new ETF in history.

Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO

He added that if we isolate the flows from investment advisors and exclude other Bitcoin ETFs, IBIT ranks as the second fastest-growing ETF launched this year out of over 300.

Investment Managers Are Heavily Allocating to Funds

The only ETF surpassing IBIT in growth is KLMT, an ESG ETF with a US$2 billion (AU$2 bn) seed from a single investor and minimal trading activity. Thus, while investment managers contribute a minor share to the overall Bitcoin ETF market, their impact is significant within the context of new ETF growth.

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It is accurate to say that investment managers represent a small fraction of buyers of bitcoin ETFs. But it is not accurate to say that investment manager purchases of bitcoin ETFs are ‘small’.

Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO

President of the ETF Store Nate Geraci had to add his “simple take on the adoption of spot btc ETFs”, by saying that the adoption has been remarkably strong and that investment advisors are actively allocating to these ETFs.

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Aaron Feuerstein
Author

Aaron Feuerstein

Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.

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