The local exchange-traded fund (ETF) market attracted $3.2 billion in investor inflows during October.
While a Palladium ETF led the performance charge with a return of 19.3 per cent, the funds rounding out the top five were all cryptocurrency-focused, according to new data from Betashares.
Namely, the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (CRYP) returned 18.8 per cent, Monochrome Bitcoin ETF recorded 18.1 per cent, and bitcoin ETFs offered by DigitalX and Global X saw returns of 17.4 and 17.2 per cent, respectively.
In its market monitor report for the week ending 8 November, Global X also revealed that five of the top 10 ETFs by one-week performance were crypto funds, signalling continued outperformance in this sector.
In a recent market note, Binance explained that the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the US earlier this year marked a significant milestone that has amplified institutional participation in the crypto space.
“Leading financial giants, including BlackRock and Fidelity, launched spot bitcoin ETFs, capturing strong interest and pushing cryptocurrency further into mainstream portfolios,” Binance said.
But bitcoin’s success in recent weeks, market players agree, is based on the return of former president Trump to the White House, especially given his public support for bitcoin and, more broadly, digital assets.
Amid this perfect storm, bitcoin soared on Wednesday to surpass $90,000 in a continued reaction to the prospect of major policy shifts under a Trump administration.
However, the cryptocurrency has been firmly in unchartered territory for a number of days now – in the hours leading up to Trump’s win, the price of bitcoin had already reached record-breaking levels, rising more than 8 per cent past US$75,000.
Gold trails BTC
According to Mena Theodorou, co-founder at crypto exchange Coinstash, the recent surge was also powered by a record $1.38 billion single-day inflow into US spot bitcoin ETFs last week.
In fact, BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF has now overtaken its 20-year-old gold ETF in size, illustrating a growing institutional preference for BTC as a store of value and hedge against inflation.
“As BTC’s price inches closer to gold, with one BTC being worth US$82,000 versus 1 kilogram of gold currently priced at US$85,000, it’s on track to potentially surpass gold’s price per kilogram as soon as this week, a milestone that would mark BTC’s full arrival as ‘digital gold’,” Theodorou said on Monday.
Importantly, the cryptocurrency has since surpassed the price of 1 kilogram of gold – on Thursday afternoon, BTC was trading just shy of US$90,000, while the yellow metal was sitting at around US$82,300 per kilo.
