Institutions help drive rally as Bitcoin ETP volumes surge 50%

Recent research has revealed that institutional grade exchange traded products surged in volume this month.

A report by CryptoCompare delves into some metrics behind Bitcoin’s epic bull run to a new 2020 high of $17,800 and reveals that institutions have been a driver of momentum.

The Digital Asset Management Review found that aggregate exchange traded products (ETP) volumes have surged 53% over the past 30 days. Average daily volumes now stand at $173.5 million compared to $113 million in October. ETPs are types of securities that track underlying securities, indexes, or financial instruments, in this case Bitcoin.

The report cited Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust product as one of the key drivers of momentum, surpassing $9 billion in assets under management. (However, the latest update from the institutional fund posted on November 18 actually states it has hit a milestone of $10 billion in digital assets under management.) Grayscale now holds half a million BTC.

MILESTONE: Grayscale just surpassed $10 billion total AUM. It’s yet another reason to #GoGrayscale. pic.twitter.com/j5mWQbIzGm

— Grayscale (@Grayscale) November 17, 2020

Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust product (ETHE) followed with assets under management of $1.7 billion, an increase of over 40% on the previous 30 days. The institutional grade fund provider has also been loading up on Litecoin which now represents $58 million in AUM, surpassing the Bitcoin Cash Trust which has $46 million.

The report added that 3iQ’s Bitcoin Fund (QBTC) experienced its highest returns over the last 30 days at just over 49%. 3iQ is Canada’s leading Bitcoin and crypto asset fund manager.

ETC Group’s BTCE product saw the largest percentage increase in AUM which almost doubled to $116 million, a surge of 93% from the previous 30 days. Average volumes for the BTCE product tripled in November to $8.87 million per day, which is over 200% higher than October’s average.

The BTCE fund was launched in June 2020, becoming the first Bitcoin-based ETP to list on XETRA, a trading technology platform operated by the Deutsche Börse Group.

WisdomTree’s BTCW meanwhile experienced a 65% increase in AUM to $79 million over the same period. WisdomTree is a New York-based exchange-traded fund and ETP sponsor and asset manager.

Institutional grade products are playing a far greater role in Bitcoin’s rally in 2020. The last time BTC surged to these prices in 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange were just launching the first institutional Bitcoin futures products for the asset.