Spot Bitcoin ETFs Now Hold Over 1 Million BTC

As of May 24, all Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) collectively hold 1,002,343 BTC, with a significant portion allocated to U.S. products among the 32 available ETFs.

MicroStrategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, emphasized this notable achievement in a recent post, noting that these 32 spot Bitcoin ETFs together now possess an amount equivalent to the holdings of the pseudonymous creator of the cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto.

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Dominate

This holding represents about 5% of the total circulating supply of Bitcoin worldwide, valued at approximately $70.5 billion. Most are concentrated within U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs, which launched in January and quickly shattered previous ETF performance records.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust are in the lead, with the former holding 289,040 BTC and the latter closely following with 287,168 BTC. Together, these two funds account for more than half of the total Bitcoin held by ETFs.

32 #Bitcoin Spot ETFs now hold ~1 Nakamoto of $BTC pic.twitter.com/OpHridlymc

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) May 27, 2024

Other notable U.S.-based ETFs include the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC), which holds 161,538 BTC, the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), which has 48,444 BTC, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), which has 36,185 BTC. Smaller players, such as the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) and Valkyrie BTC ETF (BRRR), have also contributed to the overall reserve.

Outside the U.S., Canada’s Purpose Bitcoin ETF leads with 27,110 BTC, followed by Germany’s ETC Group Physical Bitcoin Fund, which holds 21,005 BTC. The recent launch of Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong has added 3,553 BTC to the global reserve.

Growth and Long-Term Potential

Since their January launch, these spot Bitcoin ETFs have generated large trading volumes, surpassing the performance of previously launched exchange-traded funds. With over 4100 million in assets, first-quarter reports revealed that over 20% of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF exposure is held by large investors and institutions, including hedge funds, banks, and the state of Wisconsin’s pension fund.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan highlighted the long-term potential of spot Bitcoin ETFs in a recent interview. “I think long term these could be between one and five percent of the US ETF market, which is a $7 trillion market,” Hougan said. “I think this is a multi-hundred billion dollar addressable market in the US alone.”

Spot Bitcoin ETFs offer investors a way to gain exposure to Bitcoin through a familiar ETF structure. They provide a means for large institutions to gain exposure to Bitcoin, especially when direct purchases from a crypto exchange may not be possible.