The United States could make up 99.5% of the global turnover of cryptocurrency-related exchange-traded funds — but only if Bitcoin ETFs are approved, according to a Bloomberg ETF analyst.
Currently, North America accounts for 97.7% of all crypto ETF trading volume, according to Eric Balchonas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg. open Aug 10 X (Twitter) Post.
He speculated, “If/when spot ETFs come out in the US, it will probably hit 99.5%.”
There is currently a long list of Bitcoin ETF applications awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator is due to issue its decision on Ark Invest and 21Share’s ARKB fund by Aug. 13, though delays are widely expected.
During an Aug. 7 Bloomberg interview, Ark CEO Cathy Wood speculated that the regulator might wait for multiple funds to be approved at the same time.
On August 10, Bitwise filed an updated prospectus to change its BITC fund from a bitcoin futures ETF to a “Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF.” The move mirrors one by Valkyrie on August 5, which changed the BTC Futures ETF (BTF) to include Ethereum Futures.
“Cannonball Run is in effect,” comment Balchunas on August 11th.
Top performing crypto ETFs charts
Meanwhile, Balchunas also noted that the top 15 best-performing exchange-traded funds all have cryptocurrency and blockchain exposure.
“Every one of the top 15 best-performing equity ETFs this year is related to cryptocurrency.”
The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF was the best performer with a return of 227% since the beginning of 2023. WGMI is an actively managed, Nasdaq-available fund that invests in public companies in the bitcoin mining industry such as Marathon Digital, Riot, and Cipher Mining.
Several publicly traded mining companies have seen their stocks outperform Bitcoin this year which could explain the stellar performance of products like WGMI.
Related: ETF Analyst Raises Chances of Instant Approval of US Bitcoin ETF to 65%
The VanEck digital transformation ETF is second on the list with a return of 182% so far this year. The DAPP fund also tracks a number of cryptocurrency mining and technology companies. These include Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Galaxy Digital, Canaan, and Hive.
Every one of the top 15 best-performing stock ETFs this year is related to cryptocurrency. $WGMI Leading way w + 227%. Finally, pull in streams as well, but very modest considering these performance numbers. This is part of our monthly Crypto ETF report @employee & @employee pic.twitter.com/iPIHhH82Jr
– Eric Balchunas August 10, 2023
Other leading crypto-related ETPs include the Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH), which is up 168% to date; Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ), which also returned 168%; and Invesco’s Alerian Galaxy Crypto Economy ETF (SATO), up 162% so far in 2023.
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