Bitcoin Futures ETF $BITO sees record increase

Bitcoin enjoyed a renewed interest in the market ever since its recent break above the $30,000 price level. Following this, ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) recorded its highest weekly inflow in over a year last week.

$BITO is a Bitcoin futures fund offered in the U.S., allowing investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin-linked returns with a regulated product.

As per data, institutional investors poured $65 million into $BITO in the past week. This broke the ETF’s previous 2023 high, which was just over $40 million in the month of April. The recent surge in investment also pushed the fund’s assets over the highly-coveted $1 billion mark.

According to Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, $BITO has “pretty much tracked Bitcoin perfectly”. This could have been one of the main reasons behind the ETF’s recent feat. The product barely got any attention in terms of inflows in May and most of June as demand for Bitcoin was just moderate. Balchunas reiterated the fund’s success saying:

“It’s lagged spot by 1.05% ann, but its fee is 0.95% = only 10 bps of roll (extra) costs, which is rounding error. Many predicted >5% a yr.”

The development comes in the background of investment giant BlackRock’s (BLK) filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. There has been a rising interest in Bitcoin exposure among institutional investors since then.

Last weekend also saw the king coin touching the $31,000 price level. At the time of press, Bitcoin was trading in the green at $30,378, up by almost 15% weekly.