Could Bitcoin Be on the Verge of a Major Price Surge? Prominent Bitcoin ETF Witnesses Largest Inflow in Over a Year

• ProShares’ BITO Bitcoin ETF recorded a substantial weekly inflow of $65 million, reflecting a resurgence of institutional interest in Bitcoin futures.
• The resurgence in Bitcoin ETF trading has had a positive impact on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), and a new wave of applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs has followed BlackRock’s filing.

Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) enthusiasm appears to be making a comeback with numerous new applications and a boost in capital inflows from institutional investors. A significant rise in inflows was noted on June 26 to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a Bitcoin futures fund, as per observations by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

In the past year, the fund witnessed its most substantial weekly inflow, amounting to $65.3 million, pushing its total assets over the $1 billion mark. BITO, the pioneer BTC-linked ETF in the U.S., remains a preferred choice among institutional investors.

Balchunas contends that BITO has been tracking Bitcoin quite accurately, exhibiting only a minor lag behind spot prices by 1.05% per year. It also levies a fee of 0.95%. According to ProShares, the BITO fund has observed a noteworthy gain of 59.6% since the dawn of 2023. Bitcoin derivatives have seen heightened interest across the spectrum since BlackRock applied for its Bitcoin ETF on June 15.

Bitcoin futures’ open interest (OI), a metric indicating the total number of outstanding futures contracts yet to be settled, witnessed a substantial increase last week, as reported by the Deribit crypto options exchange. As of June 25, the OI for Bitcoin futures stood at $319 million, a rise of roughly 30% compared to the same period the previous week.

The revival in ETF trading and the subsequent BTC price surge has also proven beneficial for Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which had been trading at a significant discount to spot BTC prices for months, is now showing signs of recovery.

Though it remains uncertain whether the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, the race has picked up pace following BlackRock’s filing. This has prompted a new wave of applications from firms like WisdomTree and Invesco.

On June 25, Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store, listed ETF issuers he believes are likely to file or refile for a spot Bitcoin ETF based on past filings, including First Trust, VanEck, Global X, Fidelity, and what he termed the “dark horse,” Schwab.