Bitcoin Fund Gains $306 Million Ahead of SEC Ethereum ETF Deadline

Of course, expectations for the Ethereum ETF have been in the spotlight since Monday, but the Bitcoin ETF, which is already trading, has been boosted by the excitement.

According to Coinglass, $306 million worth of funds were deposited into Bitcoin ETFs yesterday. This is the largest single-day inflow of funds among the fund categories since the beginning of this month.

The distribution across Bitcoin ETFs wasn’t exactly even yesterday.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw $290 million worth of inflows, while Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw $26 million worth of inflows. This was offset by Bitcoin Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) recording withdrawals worth $4 million and $6 million, respectively.

And Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which saw net inflows worth $72.5 million between May 15 and May 20, was flat on Tuesday, according to Coinglass data.

As a side note, the gap between GBTC and IBIT has now narrowed to $736 million. It is half of what it was a month ago. It is not yet known what changes Grayscale’s new CEO Peter Mintzberg will bring to the company’s flagship Bitcoin fund.

But why is the Bitcoin ETF fueling expectations for the Ethereum ETF? This could be because some analysts, such as Standard Chartered bank, are predicting that the approval of the Ethereum ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission could push both assets (BTC and ETH) to new all-time highs.

The global market capitalization was roughly in line with mid-March, when the price of Bitcoin plummeted to its current all-time high of $73,737.94.

For Ethereum, this means chasing a price of $4,878.26, last recorded on November 10, 2021. That was a time when prices soared and the global cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded $3 trillion for the first time.

And there are many traders who are turning to derivatives hoping that it will do just that. According to Kaiko, Ethereum open interest increased by 30% in the past day, reaching an all-time high of $11 billion.

As of this morning, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation now includes the VanEck Ethereum ETF in its active and pre-launch list. But it’s hard to say whether that’s a sign of imminent approval.

The ticker for the Bitcoin ETF appeared and disappeared from clearinghouse and settlement company listings until October, months before the SEC approved the deal.