LONDON (Reuters) – Digital assets under management across exchange-traded products doubled this month to a record $43.9 billion, researcher CryptoCompare said on Friday, underscoring soaring interest in securities that track digital currencies.
Bitcoin has leapt over 60% this year, hitting an all-time high of $58,354 this month as mainstream companies such as Tesla Inc and Mastercard Inc embraced cryptocurrencies.
Still, daily trading volumes across all varieties of exchange-traded products involving cryptocurrencies slumped 38% in February from a month earlier to $936 million, CryptoCompare said in a research report.
Institutional investors seeking exposure to digital assets are likely to turn to the growing number of regulated crypto products, which can be traded on traditional stock exchanges and remove headaches over how to safely hold digital currencies, it said.
New York’s Grayscale, whose Bitcoin Trust has seen huge inflows amid the heightened interest in cryptocurrencies, now manages almost $33 billion, accounting for the majority of digital assets under management.
Canada’s Purpose Bitcoin ETF this month became the world’s first exchange-traded fund physically settled in the cryptocurrency, with asset managers in the country rushing to launch their own bitcoin ETFs.
(Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Frances Kerry)
