North America’s first Bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its first day of trading, with investors exchanging $145 million worth of shares, according to Bloomberg data.
The first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) debuted Thursday in Toronto — although Europe has several crypto-tracking products that function like an ETF.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (ticker BTCC) invests directly in “physical/digital Bitcoin,” issuer Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement.
The cryptocurrency has captivated investors from billionaire Elon Musk to hedge-fund moguls including Alan Howard and Paul Tudor Jones.
It may well be “the stimulus asset,” DoubleLine Capital LP chief Jeffrey Gundlach tweeted, in a reference to Bitcoin’s rally amid a wave of cash pumped into the financial system during the pandemic.
While the digital asset has already surged fivefold in the past year — spurring concern about a speculative froth in global markets –it’s grabbing more mainstream attention , especially after Tesla Inc’s recent $1.5 billion purchase.
The U.S. currently has several active filings for a Bitcoin ETF, including the 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.