According to data from the cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko, the total number of Bitcoin held by global Bitcoin-related ETF (futures/spot) issuers currently stands at approximately 793,034 BTC, with Grayscale leading the way with a holding of 622,657 BTC.
In the background, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently reviewing Bitcoin spot ETF applications submitted by 13 issuers, including BlackRock and Grayscale. It is widely believed that the first Bitcoin spot ETF will be launched in early January 2024, making Bitcoin a mainstream investment target for traditional financial institutions.
In a recent research report, CoinGecko revealed that the global Bitcoin-related ETFs currently listed hold a total of about 793,034 BTC (about $34 billion), accounting for 3.8% of the total Bitcoin supply (21 million BTC).
Among them, Grayscale, which is currently working to convert its Bitcoin Trust Fund (GBTC) into a Bitcoin spot ETF, holds 622,657 BTC, surpassing MicroStrategy, the Bitcoin holder among U.S. listed companies, and nearly four times the total holdings of other Bitcoin-related ETFs.
It is worth noting that Grayscale’s GBTC can currently only be traded on specific secondary markets. If the conversion is successful, this would provide convenience for investors to freely trade spot BTC. However, it also means that more than 620,000 BTC will be released into circulation, which may exert significant selling pressure on the current Bitcoin price.
According to analysts at JPMorgan, the net cumulative inflow into GBTC has reached approximately $2.5 billion since the beginning of this year. If we include the short positions covered since the beginning of the year, the selling pressure could reach $2.7 billion.
CoinGecko also pointed out in the report that the global Bitcoin-related ETF issuers currently have control over only a small portion of Bitcoin spot holdings. Therefore, even if Bitcoin spot ETFs are approved in the future, it remains to be seen whether they will have a significant impact on the Bitcoin price.
According to CoinGecko’s statistics as of December 22, 2023, the total funds of the top 20 Bitcoin ETFs globally amounted to less than $20 billion. The largest one is XBT Provider Bitcoin Tracker One (COINXBT) from Sweden, with a fund size of $7.11 billion. The second-largest, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), only has a fund size of $1.63 billion, which is far behind COINXBT. The last one on the list, ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI), has even less, with only $54.86 million.
As for the latest progress of the Bitcoin spot ETF, according to Reuters’ report citing informed sources, SEC officials met with representatives from at least seven issuers who plan to launch such ETFs in early 2024 on Thursday last week. At least two companies were informed that they need to submit final amended applications by the 29th. This has raised market expectations for the SEC’s approval of spot ETFs in mid-January.
However, it is worth noting that executives from the two companies that met with the SEC stated that during the meeting, the SEC informed them that any issuer unable to complete the changes before the deadline will not become one of the first potential approved Bitcoin spot ETFs in early January.