The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) has surpassed the $2 billion mark, driven by the anticipation surrounding the potential approval of the spot ETF. Interestingly, the spot ETF could pose a significant threat to BITO. Despite the buzz around the spot ETF, ProShares asserts that its futures ETF has been experiencing rapid growth even before the spot ETF rumors started circulating, attributing Bitcoin’s growth to factors beyond short-term speculation.
While the Bitcoin spot ETF has been making headlines, Bitcoin futures ETFs have been performing exceptionally well. The most notable among them, BITO, recently broke the $2 billion threshold in assets under management. Launched in October 2021 by Maryland-based ETF issuer ProShares, BITO quickly amassed a billion dollars in assets as investors flocked to bet on BTC. Unlike the forthcoming spot ETF, BITO does not directly invest in Bitcoin but instead tracks Bitcoin futures.
On January 9, BITO reached a new all-time high, with the company announcing that its assets under management (AUM) had grown by 10% in the past week and nearly 20% in the past month, up from $1.7 billion in mid-December. Over the past year, the AUM has increased by 250% from $560 million in January of the previous year, despite the collapse of the FTX exchange dealing a significant blow to the ETF.
Simeon Hyman, the fund’s global investment strategist, has stated that the AUM growth for BITO is not solely due to speculation on the spot ETF. He emphasized that BITO’s growth is linked to the increased interest in Bitcoin resulting from macroeconomic factors. Hyman also highlighted the diversity that futures ETFs offer, which spot ETFs cannot match. For example, ProShares provides two other ETFs—BITI and SHETH—that allow investors to short BTC and Ether, respectively.
Despite Hyman’s confidence in his product’s ability to withstand the anticipated competition from a spot ETF, not everyone shares his optimism. WisdomTree’s Will Peck, for instance, believes that the futures ETF may not have much of a future once the spot bitcoin launches. He argues that there would be no reason for any financial adviser or wealthy investor to hold a futures ETF when spot ETFs become available. WisdomTree is among the companies that have applied for the spot ETF, along with Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Will Peck, Simeon Hyman |
| Companies | ProShares, BlackRock, Fidelity, FTX exchange, WisdomTree |
| Currencies | Bitcoin, Lido Staked Ether |
| Securities | ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), WisdomTree |
