Less than a year after their debut on the US stock exchange, Bitcoin ETFs manage more capital than gold funds. On December 16, BTC ETFs exceeded the 129 billion USD mark in assets under management for the first time, surpassing all US gold funds combined.
gm!
U.S. Bitcoin ETFs flipped U.S. gold ETFs AUM yesterday. pic.twitter.com/OVYjKGXtuv
— Vetle Lunde (@VetleLunde) December 17, 2024
A significant milestone for BTC
This is undoubtedly a significant milestone for Bitcoin and shows that the digital currency has become significantly more popular with investors than gold.
The big difference between the two assets, however, is that central banks still view gold as a much more important asset than BTC. Central banks hold gold stocks, but not BTC.
That could theoretically change. BTC could replace gold, but both could also easily coexist on balance sheets. Both assets have their advantages. Gold is physical and derives its value in part from its use in the real world.
BTC, on the other hand, is “teleportable”. BTC can be sent to the other side of the world within 10 minutes. It is easier to verify authenticity, has absolute scarcity and offers other advantages over the precious metal.
In this sense, it would not be surprising if BTC also appeared on central bank balance sheets in the next ten years.
Bitcoin dominates the ETF market
Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, they have dominated the ETF market. In November, the 100 billion USD mark in assets under management was exceeded for the first time.
This value has increased significantly since then, partly due to Donald Trump and his plan to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the United States.
BlackRock remains the market leader with its IBIT BTC ETF and now manages almost 60 billion USD in BTC.
iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has now surpassed iShares Gold ETF (IAU) in assets…
Did this in 10mos.
IAU launched in January 2005.
Absolutely wild. pic.twitter.com/dLi16A28Gc
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) November 8, 2024
On November 8, the BlackRock BTC Fund overtook the BlackRock Gold Fund for the first time. What’s amazing is that this happened after just ten months. It’s hard to imagine what the coming years will bring.
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