(Bloomberg) — The crypto bloodbath has transformed a famous Bitcoin ETF that launched the most successful debut ever into one of the biggest losers for an issuer in their first two months of trading.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Omicron Study in South Africa Points to End of Acute Pandemic Phase
Cyprus Finds Covid-19 Infections That Combine Delta and Omicron
Crypto Diehards Are About to Find Out If It Really Was a Bubble
Djokovic December Covid Case Used for Exemption, Lawyers Say
Hong Kong Faces Worst of Both Worlds as Omicron Ruins Covid Zero
With a 30% drop, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, ticker BITO, is now one of the 10 worst performers when looking at returns two months after a public listing, Bloomberg Intelligence data analyzed by Athanasios Psarofagis show.
Thank the wider retreat in digital currencies as the Federal Reserve readies to withdraw pandemic stimulus. Bitcoin, the largest digital asset by market value, lost more than 34% in the two months after BITO’s debut on Oct. 19, and is down significantly from a November peak of above $68,000 per coin. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin is roughly 10% lower.
“Timing can be tough sometimes with ETFs,” Psarofagis said. “You aren’t hearing much about the performance flop of BITO since it went live.”
When it made its first showing, BITO saw turnover of almost $1 billion, which solidified it as the best debut behind only a fund that had pre-seed investments, Bloomberg data showed at the time. The fund also drew in $1 billion in assets in just two days, a record. For the crypto industry, it underscored pent-up demand for Bitcoin exposure in an ever-maturing institutional ecosystem.
But BITO is down near 9% this week alone. And flows data show initial euphoria also hasn’t kept up. It hasn’t seen a single day of inflows since 2022 started.
The fund is based on futures contracts and was filed under mutual fund rules that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said provide “significant investor protections.” An ETF that directly holds Bitcoin does not yet exist in the U.S. due to a multitude of regulatory concerns.
Still, Psarofagis says its performance thus far won’t necessarily impact future industry growth. “You can see some other ETFs had a rough start out of the gate but can still raise assets,” he said in reference to his list.
(Updates with Bitcoin’s weekly move.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
How Jessica Simpson Almost Lost Her Name
The Former NSA Official Vying to Steer Biden’s Cyber Policy
Prescription Weight Loss Drugs Are Working, If You Can Get One
Wall Street Loves China More Than Ever
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
