Bitcoin ETFs Hit Historic $7.7B Trading Volume, Breaking Records

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have set a new trading volume record, reaching an impressive $7.69 billion on February 28, according to Bloomberg's ETF expert, James Seyffart. This achievement more than doubles the previous record of $4.66 billion set on their launch day, January 11, showcasing a significant jump in investor engagement. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) led the charge, contributing 43.5% of the day's total with $3.35 billion in trades, which is twice its prior daily best. This volume nearly matched the aggregate trading volume of all ten ETFs from the day before.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) followed, with $1.86 billion and $1.44 billion in trades, respectively, both doubling their previous records. Together, they accounted for about 43% of the total volume. In a notable observation, nine new ETFs (excluding Grayscale’s) broke their past volume records within the first half of the trading day, eventually reaching $5.8 billion by day's end, as reported by Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas. He also noted that the total trade count was twice as high, with over half a million individual trades.

Market makers clarified to Balchunas that this surge was driven by genuine investor interest rather than algorithmic trading. This volume peak coincided with Bitcoin's value soaring over 10% to a two-year high of $64,000, although it slightly retracted to trade above $62,000 later. GBTC experienced its highest outflow in February on the same day, with $216.4 million leaving the fund. This follows a previous high outflow of $220.7 million on January 30, highlighting the fluid nature of investments in the Bitcoin ETF space amidst the market’s ups and downs.