VanEck's spot bitcoin ETF volume skyrockets over 1000% day before lower fee comes into effect

Quick Take

  • VanEck’s spot bitcoin ETF, ticker HODL, had its daily volume jump over $300 million, more than 1000% when compared to its most active day so far.
  • Rather than large a institutional investment driving the volume spike, the rise has been the result of “32,000 individual trades,” Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst posted to X.

Less than a week after VanEck filed a notice saying it would be lowering the fee it charges on its spot bitcoin ETF, the investment manager's fund experience a massive spike in trading volume.

On Tuesday, VanEck's spot bitcoin ETF surpassed $300 million in trading volume as of 1:50 p.m. ET, more than ten times what it traded on its best day so far. When VanEck's crypto-based ETF launched on January 11 it hit its previous high of daily trading volume when it registered $25.5 million, according to Yahoo Finance data compiled by The Block.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas took to X to express his surprise for how well the fund was performing. VanEck's ETF "is going wild today with $258 million in volume already, a 14x jump over its daily average, " he posted. "And it's not one big investor (which would make sense) but rather 32,000 individual trades, which is 60x its average."

"Because ETFs trade on the secondary market, it can be challenging to know who or why someone buys an ETF," VanEck's head of ETF product, Ed Lopez told The Block. "Today’s trading has sported great volume at tight spreads, which is ultimately what you’d want from an ETF, whether you're bullish or bearish on the market."

VanEck's ETF has struggled to keep pace with the products offered by BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale, which have dominated in terms of daily trading volumes since the new financial instruments launched last month. Both BlackRock and Fidelity charge a fee of 0.25% on their offerings, though the fees are partially waived for early investors. Last week, in a sign it potentially hoped to compete on price, VanEck filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing it would lower its fee to 0.20% from 0.25%, effective on Feburary 21, or tomorrow. 

"We've publicly filed to lower HODL’s fee, and we have seen strong interest in our fund ... including great engagement from retail investors," said Lopez.


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About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

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