Purpose Bitcoin ETF surpasses $400 million in assets under management

Purpose Investments' bitcoin exchange-traded fund debuted on Thursday and has since accrued more than $400 million in assets under management (AUM).

The figure, according to Purpose's website, highlights the rapid pace at which the ETF has taken hold since it began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The AUM figure was first reported by Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas.

As previously reported, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF won final approval from regulators in Ontario earlier this month, a development that led to last week's official listing. The approval appears to be the first in what may be a series of bitcoin-tied ETF approvals -- on Thursday, the Evolve Bitcoin ETF was given the regulatory nod and began trading Friday. Evolve's website shows that ETF has $1.2 million in assets under management.

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Public filings indicate that similar products are waiting in the wings while investment firms -- such as those that already offer closed-end funds focused on bitcoin -- are advancing new ETFs as well. Canadian investment firm CI Financial's prospectus for a bitcoin ETF became public on February 18.

Market observers expect that the advancement of bitcoin ETFs may put pressure on U.S. securities regulators to pivot away from their years-old opposition. Hester Peirce, who was confirmed for a fresh five-year term as a Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner last year, has pushed the agency to approve a bitcoin ETF for the U.S. market.

Peirce recently told CoinDesk that the U.S. market is "ready" for bitcoin exchange-traded products.