The demand for US spot Bitcoin ETFs surged significantly on Tuesday, outpacing the new supply created daily by miners by a remarkable 614%, according to Gayatri Choudry, Quantitative Research Analyst at Bitwise Asset Management.
Demand from US BTC ETFs exceeds new BTC supply by 7x pic.twitter.com/OCU5D19rpf
— Gayatri (@GayatriPC_) March 27, 2024
The surge in demand for Bitcoin ETFs reflects growing interest among institutional and retail investors in gaining exposure to the digital asset, without having to manage the BTC themselves. ETFs offer a convenient and regulated way for investors to participate in the potential upside of Bitcoin’s price movements while mitigating some of the risks associated with direct ownership and custody.
The Bitcoin halving, scheduled to occur in less than a month, will reduce the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This event is significant because it reduces the rate at which new bitcoin is generated by half, making BTC more scarce over time. As demand for Bitcoin ETFs continues to rise and outpace new supply, the available bitcoin on the market is becoming drastically scarce.
The combination of rising demand for Bitcoin ETFs and the impending Bitcoin halving have been the catalysts for the surge in Bitcoin’s price this year, with BTC now up over 55% year-to-date at the time of writing. Since BlackRock initially filed its spot Bitcoin ETF application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, BTC has risen over 173%.
Market participants remain eager to see how Bitcoin will react to the upcoming halving, as this is the first market cycle in Bitcoin’s history where its price reached a new all time high before the halving. Historically, it would take a few months for the ‘supply shock’ to jump start a rise in Bitcoin’s price following a halving. But now, with demand from spot Bitcoin ETFs growing with no end in sight, Bitcoin has already experienced a big supply shock, and the new supply of BTC per day is about to get cut in half.