More than $4 billion of a newly approved investment product tied to Bitcoin changed hands in the first day of trading on Thursday, as cryptocurrency enthusiasts celebrated a watershed moment for the industry.
Eleven of the products, known as exchange-traded funds, or E.T.F.s, started trading on popular platforms such as the Nasdaq a day after federal regulators authorized them, creating a simpler way for investors to bet on the cryptocurrency markets. Major financial firms, including asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity, are offering the E.T.F.s.
The early volume was impressive, analysts said, comparing favorably with other E.T.F. debuts. But it may take months to gauge the impact on the cryptocurrency industry, which is still reeling from a recent series of market crashes and high-profile corporate bankruptcies. Initial market data did not show how much new investment flowed into the Bitcoin funds; some of the trading activity may have stemmed from investors who bought shares and quickly flipped them.
“It’s not a one-day event,” said Sandy Kaul, who runs the digital asset arm of Franklin Templeton, a firm offering the E.T.F.s. “Six months is a really good moment to understand: Is this a transformational product?”
