• BlackRock’s IBIT now holds 500,380 BTC, making up about half of all US Bitcoin ETF holdings.
  • The US funds collectively control 5.156% of all Bitcoin; IBIT’s holdings are a significant portion of this.
  • Recent trading saw IBIT and others take in over US$670 million after earlier profit-taking of US$550 million.
  • Meanwhile, Grayscale has filed for a conversion of its Solana Trust to a Spot ETF.

The largest Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), BlackRock’s IBIT, just reached half a million in BTC holdings. The exact number as of the most recent trading day is 500,380.0952 BUM (Bitcoin under management). That’s 2.383% of all 21 million Bitcoin ever available.

The US funds hold a combined 5.156% of all BTC, so IBIT’s share is just under half of the total of these ETFs.

US Bitcoin ETF holdings and share of total BTC, source: BiTBO

Funds Accumulate Again After Profit-Taking

Recent trading data shows that IBIT and others took in over US$670 million (AU$1.03 billion) on Friday and Monday combined. This follows after US$550 million (AU$848 million) in profit-taking earlier last week and slowed down inflows mid-week.

Related: Major Sell-Off Imminent? US Gov Transfers $1.9B In Seized BTC to Coinbase Prime

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The launch of these ETFs has been a huge success. They took in more funds than most other ETFs, with IBIT being the most successful launch in four years.

Combined, the US Bitcoin ETFs hold US$103.8 billion (AU$160 billion) in value, impressive but still much lower compared to the total market cap of BTC, which currently stands at US$1.898 trillion (AU$2.93 trillion).

Bitcoin, which is now the seventh largest asset in the world, is moving closer and closer to Alphabet (Google) on spot six, with a market cap of US$2.107 trillion (AU$3.26 trillion).

All it would take for BTC to move past Google, is reaching US$108k (AU$166.9k) per coin.

Grayscale Joins Growing List of Solana ETF Applicants

With Bitcoin ETFs such a success it’s no wonder that firms are looking to offer their clients exposure to other cryptocurrencies. 

Among the potential altcoin ETFs, the most popular and promising is arguably a Solana ETF. The now fifth-largest crypto – thanks to the recent success of XRP, which has moved past SOL on the market cap leaderboard – is seen as a top pick for a fund approval.

No surprise then that Grayscale has just filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Spot Solana ETF on the New York Stock Exchange.

The 19b-4 filing with the SEC on 3 December, puts Grayscale in line with rivals Canary Capital, 21Shares, VanEck and Bitwise; Franklin Templeton is also said to be looking at launching a fund.

The application seeks to convert Grayscale’s existing Solana Trust into a fully-fledged Spot ETF – similar to its Ethereum and Bitcoin conversions.

Related: Big Trades, Crypto Update & Market Volatility!

With Trump’s upcoming term and a potential change in leadership at the SEC, many expect these applications to get the nod of approval in 2025. Pundits on betting platform Polymarket at least are mostly favouring an approval by mid-2025.