ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 1/25/24; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
Once again, industry news flow remains dominated by spot bitcoin ETFs. As I mentioned last week, the hype around this story will slowly start to fade. For now, it’s yet another spot bitcoin ETF-heavy weekly buzz (though I did include several non-spot bitcoin ETF-related reads as well)!
The SEC’s Bitcoin ETF Approvals Have Forever Altered The Global Monetary System by Avik Roy
“The most far-reaching consequence of the ETF-driven institutionalization of bitcoin is that it will become extremely difficult for the U.S. to ban the digital asset.”
Wisdom of the Crowds Re: Bitcoin ETFs by Cinthia Murphy
“We are now collectively relishing this win for ETFs as the champion structure for broad low-cost market access.”
Fidelity and BlackRock Are Dominating the Bitcoin-ETF Flow Race by Katie Greifeld
“The gravity of financial services are assets, and those are two of the largest players in the ETF space. So I suspect those will be the two winners.”
Schwab only platforms third-party spot Bitcoin ETFs, mostly Fidelity and BlackRock, but don’t be surprised if it ‘shocks the world’ with deep-cheap ETF, analyst says by Lisa Shidler
“They may shock the world and offer something that is 10-basis-points in a few months.”
No bitcoin ETFs at Vanguard? Here’s why by Janel Jackson & Andrew Kadjeski
“It’s an immature asset class that has little history, no inherent economic value, no cash flow, and can create havoc within a portfolio.”
Spot bitcoin ETFs spawn nascent derivatives ecosystem by Steve Johnson
“We are at the beginning, not the end, of ETF innovation tied to cryptocurrencies.”
Options on bitcoin ETFs could come soon, offering hedging tool for institutions by Ben Strack
“Even though these options and derivatives do not create direct ownership in bitcoin, it brings additional liquidity to bitcoin, and that is the more important piece of the equation for this asset.”
Crypto experts predict whether a spot Ethereum ETF will get approved in 2024 by Tim Copeland
“We believe the odds of approval are over 50% but not nearly as confident as we were about the Bitcoin ETFs.”
What’s Hot & Not Besides Bitcoin ETFs by Todd Rosenbluth
“There are other ETF trends emerging in the first few weeks of the year.”
ARK ETFs largely snubbed by investors last year despite positive returns by Kathie O’Donnell
“Over the past three years, ARK has been a pretty good proxy for thematics flows overall.”
Covered-Call Stock Funds Like JEPI Are Popular. Should They Be? by John Rekenthaler
“The proceeds from selling options are classified as capital gains (usually short-term), while ELN returns are nonqualified income. Thus, the SEC yield calculations for derivative-income funds are misleading.”
Why Cannabis ETFs Are Flying High Again by Kent Thune
“While investors and financial media are talking about the fall of bitcoin and the return AI hype, cannabis ETFs are quietly smoking them all.”
ETF Tweet of the Week
Bitwise became the first spot bitcoin ETF issuer to provide its digital wallet address. This allows anyone to easily verify the ETF’s holdings and flows. In an interesting twist, the fund actually began receiving “tips” to this address in the form of bitcoin and other tokens. What happens with those donations? Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan explained to The Block:
“All assets accrue to the benefits of shareholders of BITB.”
Announcement: Today the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) becomes the first U.S. bitcoin ETF to publish the bitcoin addresses of its holdings.
— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) January 24, 2024
Now anyone can verify BITB's holdings and flows directly on the blockchain.
Onchain transparency is core to Bitcoin's ethos. We're proud to… pic.twitter.com/1JTUh3zvDE
ETF Chart of the Week
Add spot bitcoin ETFs to the long list of innovations cooked up by the industry. Below is a fun chart courtesy of Strategas’ Todd Sohn showing the evolution of alternative and commodity ETFs since the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) first debuted in 2004. As Todd says:
“ETFs are the access point for investors in search of (nearly) every solution available.”
Source: Strategas’ Todd Sohn
