Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said the financial industry has “never seen such insatiable demand for an ETF wrapper” as with Bitcoin ETFs.
Sonnenshein made the statement during a CNBC interview on March 1, where he shared his insights on the performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the market’s reaction to their recent launch.
Investor demand
Sonnenshein said:
“[There’s been] a lot of pent up demand based on the spot Bitcoin ETFs coming to market. … And so we’re seeing huge flows and demand from investors, and that’s actually also outpacing the supply of bitcoin that’s coming into the market every day and really adding to the price.
He added that demand for these ETFs is diverse and includes both retail and institutional investors.
Despite this supposed growth, CNBC noted that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has seen significant outflows. Specifically, GBTC experienced continuous outflows for 30 days.
Sonnenshein explained that GBTC is older than most other funds and came to market with $30 billion in assets under management, while Newborn Nine came to market with no previous holders.
He added that the company had anticipated the outflow as investors had held the shares for a long time.
New wave of adoption
Sonnenshein said the industry is experiencing a “new wave of adoption” with the launch of these ETFs, and it’s only a matter of time before money starts flowing into Bitcoin, driving it to new highs.
He noted that there is $40 trillion in advised wealth that has been left out of Bitcoin and now has a path to gain some exposure to the flagship crypto.
Meanwhile, traditional financial institutions are beginning to bow to customer pressure and allow access to these ETFs, including Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo.
Moreover, the halving is approaching and the supply of Bitcoin will decrease by 50% in less than two months. Sonnenshein believes the upcoming halving will be a key catalyst to attract more investors to the sector and drive adoption.
Sonnsenshein also recently said during a separate interview that the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs is a “matter of when, not if.”
Industry experts predict that there is a 50% chance that the SEC will greenlight ETH ETFs by the initial filing deadline this summer.
