The US securities regulator has approved the first US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETF) to track bitcoin, in a watershed moment for the world’s largest crypto and the broader crypto industry.

The announcement came at the end of a tumultuous 24 hours for the popular crypto, which saw a tweet sent from the account of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcing the approval of the long-awaited ETFs on Tuesday, leading the price of bitcoin to spike by more than $1,000. Soon after, the SEC said its account had been “compromised” and the tweet was “unauthorized.”

By Wednesday, however, the SEC had approved the ETFs – this time for real – adding that it remained skeptical about crypto.

In this blog, let’s see how things have changed after the approval.

Before we move forward, here’s a quick update on how things will shape the future after receiving the green light from the SEC. Read here!

Impact on Bitcoin Price & the Volume of BTC ETF Applicants

Bitcoin surged to a new multi-year peak of $49,000 on Thursday after the Bitcoin ETF went live on the public markets. The ETFs collectively generated an impressive $4.3 billion in trading volume across 11 providers, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

• Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) spearheaded the volume charts, amassing $446 million within just half an hour of trading.
• Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) closely followed with $388 million, positioning it as the top-performing new entrant.
• Fidelity’s FBTC and Ark Invest/21Shares’ ARKB accumulated $230 million and $82 million, respectively.

Analysts, including Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, highlighted potential shifts in investor preferences, suggesting that a considerable portion of the volume may represent new capital injections. Additionally, Seyffart indicated that GBTC might be experiencing outflows due to its comparatively higher annual management fee of 1.5%, motivating investors to explore alternatives with lower fees.

Bitcoin ETF Trading Volume Blew Off on Day 1

On the first day of trading for spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), the market witnessed an unprecedented surge in activity, reflecting substantial investor interest.

Industry analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted that 11 recently approved spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded over 700,000 individual trades, amassing a staggering volume exceeding $4.3 billion. Notably, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) dominated with a volume surpassing $2 billion, nearly matching the cumulative volume of all other Bitcoin ETPs, benefitting from its prior assets under management (AUM) advantage.

Concurrently, ETF analysts James Seyffart and Vijay Boyapati observed significant volume shifts, suggesting a potential migration of investors from GBTC to new ETFs, possibly due to more favorable fee structures.

Despite the ETF fervor, the spot Bitcoin market experienced minimal fluctuations, briefly peaking at $49,000 before settling around $46,000, while the overall crypto market capitalization remained stable at $1.85 trillion.

Analysts remain vigilant for potential market corrections as the initial ETF-induced excitement wanes, emphasizing the evolving dynamics and investor sentiment within the burgeoning crypto ecosystem.

With all this going on, was there any impact on WazirX? Let’s find out in the following section.

What Happened at WazirX?

Following the recent approval of Bitcoin ETFs, WazirX witnessed a remarkable surge in buyer activity and trading volume.

Specifically, buyer engagement surged by an impressive 75% compared to the previous three days. Even more strikingly, when benchmarked against the preceding week, buyer participation escalated by over 130%.

Concurrently, the trading volume experienced a notable uptick, registering a 20% increase in comparison to the past three days and an overwhelming 80% surge from the previous week.

Delving deeper into our user demographics, retail traders emerged as a significant driving force behind this heightened activity.

Retail trading volume surged by 30% compared to the preceding day and skyrocketed by a staggering 200% relative to the prior week’s metrics. Notably, this marked Bitcoin’s most robust single-day trading volume within the financial year 2023-24.

As WazirX continues to evolve as a leading crypto exchange, these trends underscore our commitment to facilitating seamless and robust trading experiences for our expanding user base amidst the evolving crypto landscape.