Since January 11, after the release of nine new Bitcoin ETFs, the issuers of these funds have become owners of more than 500,000 BTC, worth $35.2 billion at the current exchange rate. As of March 28, the capital invested in Bitcoin ETFs amounted to $183 million, allowing the total amount of BTC in the wallets of companies creating these derivatives to reach 501,200. Together with Grayscale's holdings, totaling 835,000 BTC, these firms control nearly 4% of all coins in circulation.
Among the issuers of the new Bitcoin ETFs, the largest number of coins is held by BlackRock — around 250,000 BTC. Fidelity follows with approximately 150,000 BTC, and Bitwise closes the top three leaders with 50,000 BTC.
After the Grayscale trust fund was converted into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), this derivative lost 284,846 bitcoins worth $20 billion due to the high commission preferred to be avoided by traders. Unlike Grayscale, which holds a 1.5% commission, its competitors such as Fidelity and Valkyrie charge only 0.25%.
The issuance of Bitcoin ETFs has significantly increased demand for cryptocurrency, surpassing supply. For example, on March 26, the fund issuers purchased 614% more coins than were mined by miners. After the next halving, when the block reward halves to 3.125 BTC, the supply will decrease even further.
