Gate News — BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw a sharp surge in daily trading volume to $16.0–$18.0 billion, which has already reached twice the spot trading volume of the United States’ top CEX, and is close to the level of a major mainstream CEX. Analytics firm Kaiko noted that institutional investors are rapidly siphoning liquidity away from crypto-native platforms through regulated ETF products, creating direct competition for traditional exchanges.
Since IBIT launched in January 2024, it has accounted for about 70% of the share in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. Although total ETF flows recorded an outflow of $496.5 million in the first quarter, additional inflows of $1.32 billion in March drove a monthly rebound in spot Bitcoin ETFs. On April 2, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $8.99 million, with Fidelity’s FBTC leading at $7.29 million. Meanwhile, spot Ether ETFs logged net outflows of $71.17 million, and BlackRock’s ETHA saw a daily net outflow as high as $46.66 million.
The surge in ETF trading volume doesn’t mean the market has received new capital; it may reflect hedging, rebalancing, or adjustments to short-term positions. While Bitcoin ETFs posted the second-worst performance in the first quarter since their launch—only behind the outflows in the fourth quarter of 2025—IBIT’s trading activity shows that traditional financial institutions are engaging in deeper competition with the digital asset market.
As institutional investors increasingly prefer to participate in the market through regulated products, the growth rate and trading volume of Bitcoin ETFs highlight a trend in which the boundary between TradFi and digital assets is gradually becoming blurred. In the coming months, Bitcoin price movements and macroeconomic signals may become key determinants of ETF fund flows.
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