Bitcoin ETF Trading Volumes Tripled in March as the Largest Cryptocurrency Hit Record Highs

U.S.-listed bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) captured over $110 billion in trading volume in March, a figure three times higher than the volumes in January and February, as the largest cryptocurrency soared to record highs.

Trading was led by BlackRock’s IBIT, which comprised almost 50% of the total, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said on X. Grayscale’s GBTC was next with 20% of the total share, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at 17%.

“$IBIT won the volume race and is officially the $GLD of bitcoin,” Balchunas said, referring to a gold ETF. “I can’t imagine April will be bigger but who knows.”

The U.S. bitcoin ETFs were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January and started trading Jan. 12, when the asset was priced around $45,000. Since then, bitcoin has climbed to a record $73,000, prompting a change in the market dynamic from fundamentals to spot ETF performance, some firms say.

BlackRock’s volumes have all originated from inflows since March 15, data from Farside Investors show, and it held over $16 billion worth of bitcoin as of Tuesday’s close. As previously reported, a large chunk of BlackRock’s volumes come from retail investors with an average trading size of $13,000.