investors exchanged US$80M in 1st hour of BTCC trading North America’s first Bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its first day of trading, with investors exchanging US$80 million worth of shares in the first hour.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (ticker BTCC), which debuted in Toronto on Thursday, invests directly in “physical/digital Bitcoin,” issuer Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement. Its the first product ever for Bitcoin that’s officially labeled an exchange-traded fund, although Europe has several “physically backed” Bitcoin products that function like an ETF.
While it’s unclear how much of the activity in BTCC will result in inflows for the fund, the trading volumes are well above an ETF’s typical first day, even in the much bigger U.S. market.
Although too early to tell, ETF proponents argue that such a fund will trade without the massive premiums plaguing many current Bitcoin trusts in the U.S.
The U.S. currently has several active filings for Bitcoin ETFs including ones from VanEck Associates Corp. and Bitwise Asset Management, but the price swings notorious in cryptocurrenies and allegations of industry manipulation remain hurdles to regulator approval.