Over 500,000 BTC held in Top BTC spot ETFs Worth $50B

n less than a year since their debut, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have combined to amass more than 500,000 BTC worth roughly $50.6 billion. The milestone reflects the latest institutions going for Bitcoin and to a certain degree the need for regulated products to invest in Bitcoin.

BlackRock Leads the Charge

The leading contender for spot Bitcoin ETFs is the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, with a stunning $35,490. That represents roughly 2.38% of the circulating supply of Bitcoin. That said, this notably makes BlackRock the third-largest holder of Bitcoin in the world, only behind Satoshi Nakamoto and Binance.

Other large asset managers contributed significantly to the increase in flows. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust attracted $12.22 billion of Bitcoin investments, ARK Invest's ARKB- $2.64 billion and Bitwise's BITB- $2.21 billion. 

The Growth of Institutional Involvement

The lion's share of this growth has been driven by institutional players, who were given an opportunity through regulatory clarity around Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. Hedge funds, from Millennium Management to Capula Management and Tudor Investment, have doled out huge chunks of their portfolios to Bitcoin ETFs.

Investor preferences are seen to have shifted— with BlackRock's IBIT now boasting more assets under management than the firm's own iShares Gold Trust (IAU). Analysts suggest this is due to growing confidence in Bitcoin as a digital store of value that rivals traditional hedges like gold.

Wider Implications for the Market

These investment vehicles are grounding up mainstream adoption across the space by giving institutional and retail investors the maximum balance and confidence to take exposure to Bitcoins.

However, this also means that these institutional entities are causing a concentration in Bitcoin holdings, for which several eyebrows have been raised regarding its future centralized nature. Critics fear that too much control of Bitcoin by a few asset managers could kill the decentralized spirit behind the cryptocurrency.

Nevertheless, regardless of all these challenges, the trend is here to stay. With institutional demand for Bitcoin sustained, Geo believes that swapping to ETF might be a reason for Bitcoin prices to reach a new ATH.