It’s been just over 24 hours since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light for 11 spot bitcoin ETFs to trade. While initial trading volume exceeded expectations, some approved issuers are going the extra mile to make their product stand out from the rest.
Franklin Templeton, for example, made a strong debut on Thursday as their Franklin Bitcoin ETF ranked sixth among the 11 for first-day trading volume, raking in $65.45 million by market close.
But the company isn’t content with just that. In an effort to attract even more investors, Franklin Templeton lowered their fee from 29 basis points to a mere 19 basis points on Friday, giving them the lowest post-waiver fee compared to all other spot bitcoin ETFs. This rate is 0.01% lower than Bitwise’s 0.2% fee. (Note: A number of issuers, including Franklin, are waiving fees for a limited time.) In comparison, the highest fee is set at 1.5% for Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust.
With the potential for strong demand in the future, major investment firms are eager to get in on the action. “People are beginning to realize the potential of this new investment landscape,” commented Sandy Kaul, head of digital asset and industry advisory services at Franklin Templeton. “Over the past year and a half, we’ve seen a significant increase in interest from our clients.”
On the first day of trading, the spot bitcoin ETFs collectively saw a staggering $2.3 billion in trading volume, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. This number includes an additional preexisting $2.3 billion that was converted into a spot bitcoin ETF from Grayscale’s GBTC on Wednesday, bringing the total across all 11 issuers to $4.6 billion.
“The first day of trading for spot bitcoin ETFs has already proven to be a huge success and we can expect even more growth in the future,” stated Balchunas.
