The First U.S. Bitcoin ETF Sends Crypto Soaring… and More
Amanda Heckman|October 23, 2021
Crack open the champagne… crypto just had a HUGE week.
Big milestones were achieved… all-time highs were breached… and the bullish case for cryptos is now stronger than ever.
This photo taken outside the NYSE on Tuesday sums it up:
The first U.S.-based Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund – the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – launched to great fanfare.
How much fanfare? Well, the fund started the day with $20 million in seed capital… and ended it with a healthy $570 million in its coffers.
The ETF saw a jaw-dropping $1 billion worth of trading volume on Tuesday, according to ProShares. That made it the second-most heavily traded new ETF on record.
For comparison, the first North American Bitcoin ETF, Canada’s Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC), traded $200 million worth of shares on its first day earlier this year. It accumulated $500 million in assets over the course of a week.
Investors Go Ballistic for BITO
Even more telling, many of the dollars flowing into BITO this week came from individual investors. According to Dave Nadig, chief investment officer and director of research at ETF Trends…
This is probably going to be what we all expected, which is it’s an access vehicle for certain players in the marketplace. There’s lots of folks who are active participants in the markets who just don’t want to cross over the crypto bridge by themselves.
Andy addressed the excitement on Wednesday, explaining the inner workings of BITO and noting some of its risks. “It’s not the best way in [to crypto],” he wrote. “But it is one more notch in Bitcoin’s belt.”
(If you want to learn more about Andy’s FAVORITE crypto plays right now, click here.)
The market response proves investors are hungry for cryptos… any way they can have them.
Bitcoin Breaks Records… Again
As money poured into BITO, it also flooded the crypto market. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $66,974 on Wednesday as excited investors piled in. Just as we’d expect, the action pulled many other cryptos up as well.
Ethereum hit a five-month high of more than $4,200 early Thursday. Smaller altcoins also spiked.
What’s more… this may be just a preview of things to come.
As more ETFs receive approval – we saw the launch of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) on Friday, and there are at least 12 more funds awaiting SEC approval – we’re sure to see more record highs.
It’s no longer a question of if Bitcoin will hit $100,000… but rather how soon it will.
Big Predictions
And the final feather in crypto’s cap this week is something we’re watching closely here at Manward.
If you’ll recall, Andy predicted back in January that Bitcoin would hit $40K. Well, that prediction came true in less than a week… which led Andy to a new prediction…
That the entire crypto market would reach a $3 trillion market cap.
We’re getting real close, folks.
The flurry of activity this week pushed crypto’s market cap to $2.7 trillion – triple what it was at the start of the year and far eclipsing Apple’s $2.5 trillion valuation.
As Andy likes to say… money goes where it’s treated best. Right now, that’s the crypto market… and it’s clear this trend is just getting warmed up.
But while all eyes are on Bitcoin, we’re watching three small coins that could be even bigger. If you missed Bitcoin’s incredible rise, then this is your rare second chance to get in on the next wave of crypto fortunes. Get all the details here.
Amanda Heckman
Amanda Heckman is the editorial director of Manward Press. With unrivaled meticulousness, she has spent the past 15 or so years in the financial publishing industry. A classically trained musician and a skilled writer in her own right, Amanda takes an artistic approach to the complex world of investing. Her skill has led her to work with numerous bestselling authors, award-winning financial gurus, and – lucky for us – the fine folks at Manward Press.
