Mixed Reception to ETF Debut

It’s the first day of spot BTC ETFs trading and Bitcoin is now more accessible than ever, but price is trending downward on the day. What gives with BTC’s lackluster performance?

Spot Bitcoin ETF trading volumes quickly crossed the $1.2B mark during the first 30 minutes of trading, with euphoria leading up to Wall Street’s open helping to propel Bitcoin to new cycle highs of $49k.

Tragically, what appeared to be a Bitcoin breakout quickly reversed 5% within two hours of the open, leaving frustrated longs with little more than a fake out.

While BTC may be struggling, it is not alone: broader markets are just down on the day! TradFi’s S&P 500 has fallen by 0.8% and even Ether – an asset that has outperformed over the past two days as traders position for its spot ETF – is going flat.

For spot BTC ETF issuers, the key to success will be in attracting organic inflows to their products from non-crypto native investors. To accomplish this, they will need to convince the investing public that Bitcoin is worth purchasing and must therefore help us pump our bags!

Despite the dip in BTC price, issuers have demonstrated their full willingness to shill out for crypto, with ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood setting price targets as high as $1.5M for BTC by 2030 and BlackRock issuing charts calling out Bitcoin as the best performing asset over the past decade.