Bitcoin ETF Trading Volume Breaches $1 Billion

Trading volumes for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surged past $1 billion at the start of trading on Aug. 5, driven by "extremely elevated" trading activity across crypto markets, Alex Thorn, head of research at asset manager Galaxy Digital, noted in a post on the X platform.

Within just 20 minutes of trading, Bitcoin ETFs reached over $1.3 billion in trading volume, with iShares Bitcoin Trust leading the way at over $875 million, according to the post.

Thorn anticipates that BTC ETFs will experience net inflows from "dip buying" as investors look to capitalize on an approximately 8% drop in spot BTC prices since Aug. 4.

This downturn was primarily led by Ether, which plummeted by over 21% after funds, including Jump Trading and Paradigm VC, sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Ether, according to an Aug. 5 report by QCP Group.

Analysts report that Jump has already sold over $377 million in ETH and may plan to liquidate as much as $481 million in total.

The overnight sell-off exacerbated a worsening macro environment that has affected all asset classes.

The S&P 500 stock index has declined by more than 5% since Aug. 1.

According to the report, "Macro sentiment has also worsened following poor US unemployment data last Friday.

Additionally, huge unwinds across all assets [have] caused volatility to spike sharply."

Japan’s central bank raised interest rates on July 30, forcing traders to quickly unwind positions that sought to capitalize on the country’s cheap borrowing costs.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, told Cointelegraph he expects new crypto investment to slow down until the market stabilizes:

"The market structure, including fiat-to-crypto on-ramps, has been weak for months [...] It’s unlikely that significant players will invest amid high volatility and unpredictable prices. Many still need to exit positions and deleverage their portfolios."

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-etf-trading-volume-1-billion-amid-crypto-crash-galaxy

https://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/1820456747653324987

https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1820321011730116636/photo/1