Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a major topic recently due to increased levels of market inflows. According to data from SoSoValuethese ETFs have attracted over $5 billion in investments over the past three weeks, coinciding with an impressive surge in Bitcoin prices of over 23%. However, amid this euphoria, macro researcher Jim Bianco says these Spot ETFs have not contributed to any significant growth in the Bitcoin market.
Bitcoin spot ETFs do not bring in any recent money, only recycled investments
In series of X posts On November 2, Bianco said that Spot Bitcoin ETFs, despite an impressive record of inflows, are not attracting any recent investment in the underlying assets. First, the analyst applauds the performance of these institutional funds, some of which were named the top-performing ETFs of 2024 after their launch in January.
However, Bianco emphasizes that BTC has not surpassed its all-time high of 73,750, set eight months ago, even though Spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated over $12 billion in inflows since BTC over the same period.
Instead of falling less than 4% on ATH, the analyst explained that such high inflows should since then push the main cryptocurrency beyond the $100,000 mark, especially considering other positive indicators such as Fed interest rate cuts, halving and public support from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
For context, Bianco is referring to gold ETFs, which have seen a record inflow of over $6 billion since March 13, resulting in a 25% enhance in the market price of gold over that period. The market analyst postulates that the price enhance can be attributed to the inflow of “new money” into gold ETFs. However, recycled funds moved from on-chain wallets or centralized exchanges make up the majority of Spot Bitcoin ETF investments.
Jim Bianco supports this theory with a report from Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas, which highlighted a decline in retail bitcoin transactions on the exchange over the past few months. Moreover, it also points to an average turnover of $16,000 for spot BTC ETFs compared to an average turnover for gold ETFs of $72,000, which is consistent with investments by wealth managers and institutions.
In summary, Jim Bianco states that Spot Bitcoin ETFs are not attracting any “new money” but are merely circulating existing Bitcoin investments, which he describes as a disturbing trend that could give time-honored financial institutions (TradFi) greater influence in the market cryptocurrencies versus decentralization ethos.
Bloomberg analyst reacts sharply to BTC ETF criticism
Popular Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has released a sturdy denial of Bianco’s approach to Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which he describes as merely “mental gymnastics.” Balchunas praised the performance of these ETFs, which he said played a key role in driving Bitcoin’s price from $35,000 in January to its current market price of almost $70,000. The Bloomberg analyst describes Spot Bitcoin ETFs as “powerful” due to their low cost, high liquidity and tie to an established brand, and advises against betting against them.
At the time of writing BTC. is still trading at $68,100, reflecting a decline of 2.55% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image from Blockzeit, chart from Tradingview
