Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said the financial industry has “never seen such insatiable demand for ETF wrappers” as it saw with the Bitcoin ETF.
Sonnenshein made the statement in a CNBC interview on March 1, sharing insight into the performance of the spot Bitcoin ETF and the market’s reaction to its recent launch.
investor demand
Sonnenshein said:
“There has been a lot of pent-up demand based on spot Bitcoin ETFs coming to market (so far). … And we are seeing tremendous flow and investor demand, which is far outstripping the supply of Bitcoin coming into the market every day and is actually adding to the price.”
He added that demand for these ETFs is diverse and includes retail and institutional investors.
Despite these growth expectations, CNBC noted that Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has experienced significant outflows. In particular, GBTC experienced sustained 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 entered the market without a previous holder.
He added that the company expected the outflow because investors had held the stock for a long time.
A new wave of adoption
Sonnenshein said that with the launch of these ETFs, the industry is experiencing a “new wave of adoption” and that it is only a matter of time before money flows into Bitcoin, hitting new highs.
He noted that the $40 trillion in assets excluded from Bitcoin now have a path to exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, traditional financial institutions, including Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, are beginning to ease the pressure on their customers and allow them access to these ETFs.
Additionally, the halving is encroaching and will reduce Bitcoin supply by 50% within two months. Sonnenshein believes the upcoming halving will be an important catalyst to attract more investors to the industry and drive adoption.
Sonnsenshein also recently said in a separate interview that the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF is “a matter of timing, not possibility.”
Industry experts predict there is a 50% chance that the SEC will approve the ETH ETF by the first filing deadline this summer.