Spot bitcoin ETF trading volumes hit $1.8B on trading day 3

Spot bitcoin ETFs have notched combined trading volumes of roughly $10 billion in their first three days on the market

share

Spot bitcoin ETFs have notched trading volumes of roughly $10 billion in their first three days on the market, with funds by Grayscale Investments and BlackRock continuing to lead competitors in that category.

Grayscale’s newly converted Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) notched Tuesday trading volumes amounting to about 25 million shares, or $970 million, a Blockworks review of Yahoo Finance data found.

That came after GBTC’s volumes were about $2.3 billion and $1.8 billion on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Read more: Bitcoin ETF Tracker

High trading volumes for GBTC did not signify a net influx of funds. It saw net outflows of $579 million last week, as highlighted in a CoinShares report released on Monday. Recently, GBTC converted to an ETF format. Though recently converted to an ETF, the trust launched in 2013 and has roughly $27 billion in assets under management.

Segment observers told Blockworks last week they expected GBTC to see outflows over time, in part because of its high fee compared to competitors, at 1.5%.

Read more: Spot bitcoin ETF debut week inflows lagged 2021 BTC futures launch: CoinShares

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw trading volumes amounting to nearly 15 million shares, or roughly $370 million, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, there were about 8.2 million shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) — worth about $310 million — traded on the day.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post that BlackRock’s IBIT was on its way to be the fund “most likely to overtake GBTC as liquidity king.” 

Industry watchers labeled liquidity — tighter bid-ask spreads and capacity for large trades without much price impact — as a key factor certain investors would weigh when deciding which spot bitcoin ETF to buy.  

The spot bitcoin ETF by Ark Invest and 21Shares, as well as one by rival firm Bitwise, had Tuesday trading volumes of about $124 million and $52 million, respectively. 

Other similar offerings by Invesco, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie and WisdomTree each had $10 million in volumes or less. 

Loading Tweet..

Bitwise initially led in net flows for spot bitcoin ETFs. However, BlackRock and Fidelity, traditional finance giants, surpassed the crypto-focused firm after the second day, as indicated by Bloomberg Intelligence data.

21Shares President Ophelia Snyder told Blockworks the initial trading volumes reflect pent-up demand, noting she expects “a second wave of activity in the coming weeks and months as this becomes more mainstream.” 

Read more: Short-term view on spot bitcoin ETFs ‘a mistake’ says 21Shares president

But focusing on short-term flows into such funds is “crazy short-sighted and largely not the point,” she added.

“It’s going to ramp over time,” Snyder said. “So I think the short-term view is a mistake.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

🚀 Build What’s Next — Permissionless IV Hackathon Join us June 22–23 in Brooklyn for the Permissionless IV Hackathon — a 36-hour sprint hosted by Cracked Labs and Blockworks where top builders turn ideas into real products. Come to launch, not just […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (10).png

Research

Kamino has evolved into a full-stack asset scaling suite with V2: unlocking new markets, improving capital efficiency, and catering to various risk profiles. We believe it is best positioned to become the credit backbone of Solana as the ecosystem matures. Simply put, KMNO remains our highest-conviction bet in the Solana ecosystem. This report lays out our thesis.

article-image

With an updated Summary of Economic Projections, the Fed sees growth slowing and inflation increasing

article-image

Where do crypto mobile games go from here?

article-image

Bybit’s Byreal, Binance Alpha and Coinbase’s DEX integrations

article-image

This isn’t the worst hack to ever hit Mt. Gox, but it could be the most entertaining

article-image

Crossover’s CEO discusses institutional interest and how over-the-counter (OTC) trading has picked up in crypto

article-image

Sponsored

This collaboration signifies a major leap forward in expanding the reach and utility of Web3 gaming within the vibrant Asian market