Investors opted for a cautious approach during intense volatility on the opening day of three crypto funds.
Three crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) opened up to investors in Australia on Thursday, with a slow start being attributed to an 18-month low for bitcoin (BTC).
The Cosmos Asset Management ETF, which invests in bitcoin through the Canadian Purpose Bitcoin ETF, saw $250,000 in trading volume across the first hour before hitting $400,000 by 1 p.m. in Sydney.
The ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF experienced similar volumes, while the ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF had around $150,000 in the first hour of trading.
The volumes were well below the expected $1 billion inflow of capital into these ETF’s, according to a report by AFR. Bitcoin dropped to levels not seen since 2020 on Thursday, and the total crypto market cap lost 16% overnight.
ETF Securities head of distribution Kanish Chugh said that trading had been “relatively muted.”
“The extreme volatility in crypto has caused some investors interested in crypto to sit on the sidelines and wait for calm. This is a challenging market for a crypto ETF launch,” Chugh added.
In a bid to incentivize volume and appeal to market makers, Cosmos waived fees for the first two months.