North America's First Bitcoin ETF Hits $165M Trade Volume in First Day: Report

The Canadian fund has experienced a flurry of demand but in the U.S. a bitcoin ETF is an unrealized desire.

Feb 19, 2021 at 11:46 a.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:14 p.m. UTC

The first publicly traded bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in North America came out swinging on Thursday, its first day of trading.

About $165 million worth of shares of the newly minted ETF changed investor hands in less than a day, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The fund, which is managed by Canada-based Purpose Investments, has experienced a flurry of demand where trade volumes hit well above the country's typical day one ETF threshold, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart.

A bitcoin ETF in the U.S. has been highly prized by the likes of VanEck and Valkyrie but is yet to make its debut stateside due to concerns from regulators over the nascent asset class' volatility and industry manipulation.

Multiple close-ended bitcoin funds have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, such as the ones listed by Canadian investment manager 3iQ. However, they differ from an ETF.

The fund seeks to replicate the performance of the price of the bellwether cryptocurrency while units of its shares are currently changing hands for around CAD$10.17 (US$8.00).

UPDATE (Feb. 19, 17:55 UTC): Restores inadvertently dropped attribution.

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