Bitwise senior executive predicts an influx of funds into the BTC ETF after US banks entered the market

According to him, the main demand at the moment is coming from retail investors and hedge funds

01.03.2024 - 14:22

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What’s new? Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan has said that at the moment the demand for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) shares comes mainly from retail investors, hedge funds, and independent financial advisors, while large US banks have not yet offered the new product to their clients. According to the senior executive, BTC ETFs are expecting a large influx of funds in a few months when financial institutions enter this market.

Hougan’s interview with CNBC

What else is known? Investment company Bitwise is the issuer of one of the ten spot BTC ETFs available in the US market. Its product under the ticker BITB has accumulated over $1 billion in assets under management since launching on January 11.

On February 28, the trading volume of BTC ETF shares set a record at $7,7 billion, the previous record of $4,7 billion was recorded a day earlier. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $3,3 billion, the fund has accumulated over $9 billion under management, topping the ranking by this indicator. FBTC from Fidelity has accumulated more than $6 billion, followed by ARKB from ARK Invest and 21 Shares, which has more than $1 billion under management.

According to Hougan, six to eight funds will continue to operate in the long term.

On February 28, 10 spot BTC ETFs received $673,42 million, which was the maximum since the beginning of trading. Grayscale’s GBTC continues to see outflows, totaling $216,39 million over the day. GBTC, unlike the other nine funds, is not new: it operated as a bitcoin trust until January 2024 and then was converted into a BTC ETF. Currently, its management fee is at a record high compared to its competitors (1,5%).

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