With the rise of bitcoin in 2021 had come more institutional interest in the digital asset. Funds quickly adapted to the changing landscape, offering new ways for their clients to get exposure to the blossoming crypto market. This accelerated adoption by institutional investors has continued even through the bitcoin downtrend which many consider an opportunity to buy. The first half of 2022 has now seen the BTC under management hit a new all-time high.

Big Money Wants More

Even after the bitcoin under management had hit multiple new all-time highs back in 2021, these large investors are not slowing down. The first half of the year 2022 has come with good tidings when it comes to the Bitcoin ETPs. These ETPs have seen their holdings surge as they reach levels never recorded before. 

Global net inflows are up all across the board with net inflows hitting 9,765 BTC. As a result of these inflows, the BTC being held by ETPs had touched 197,536 BTC by the end of May. However, this growth would prove to be a continuous one because two days into the month of June, this number had climbed as high as 205,003 BTC under management. 

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This number is up almost 50% from where it sat in September of 2021. The growth had been steady, climbing from its September position of 144,309 BTC to 187,913 BTC by the end of 2021. Since then, there have been almost 20,000 BTC added to the bitcoin held under management by ETPs.

BTC ETPs hit new ATH | Source: Arcane Research

Factors Driving Bitcoin ETPs Growth

There are a number of factors that are behind the growth being recorded in the ETPs. These have been the multiple ETFs that have been launched in different countries across the world. Mainly those in North America which have seen the most interest from investors.

The Canadian ETFs stay in the lead, especially with the massive inflows that continue to flow into the Purpose ETF. This saw the Canadian ETFs record their strongest month inflows in May and now the BTC under management by ETPs in the country has reached a new all-time high.

Australian Bitcoin ETFs have also played a part in the growth of this sector. Although to a much lesser degree considering how much the ETPs hold under management. All of the ETF launches in the country have met underwhelming responses, with only 237 BTC now being held under management.

BTC recovers as ETPs touch new ATH | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Across the pond in Europe, the ETNs are still doing badly. They are rocked by sustained outflows that had led to negative flows being recorded in the region on aggregate. This has not stopped some net inflows into the redeemable ETPs. This indicates that the European Bitcoin ETP sector may be seeing a restructuring soon.

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The U.S. and Brazilian market have also followed their European counterparts. There have been minor flows throughout the month of May and only a small portion of that has resulted in monthly net inflows. This suggests that the Canadian BTC ETPs continue to dominate and drive the growth being recorded.