Bitcoin Institutional Adoption Accelerates as ETF Filings Show Investor Appetite

The dominant crypto narrative for 2024 has been institutional adoption. From the U.S. approval of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds to the burgeoning number of companies pledging to buy the largest cryptocurrency for their treasuries, crypto has entered, more than ever before, the mainstream conversation.

Bitcoin has increased almost 130% this year, breaking record highs on several occasions. It is currently hovering near the psychological threshold of $100,000. The ETFs approved in January have seen net inflows of $36 billion and amassed over 1 million BTC.

In addition, the number of publicly traded companies saying they're adding bitcoin to their corporate treasury is accelerating. The trend, which started with MicroStrategy (MSTR) in 2020, recently attracted KULR Technology (KULR), a maker of energy storage products for the space and defense industries. The Houston, Texas-based company said it bought 217.18 BTC for $21 million and is allocating up to 90% of the surplus to cash to BTC.

Now Bitwise Asset Management, which already has spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, has applied for an exchange-traded fund to track the shares of companies that hold at least 1,000 BTC in treasury. Other requirements for the fund, dubbed Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF, are a market capitalization of at least $100 million, a minimum average daily liquidity of at least $1 million and a public free float of less than 10%, according to the Dec. 26 filing.

A second Thursday filing was made by Strive Asset Management, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, a politician in the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The Bitcoin Bond ETF seeks exposure through derivative instruments such as MicroStrategy's convertible securities in an actively managed ETF. The bonds have been a massive success. The 0% coupon bond maturing in 2027 is priced at 150% above par and has outperformed bitcoin since inception.

"Since our inception, Strive has called out the long-term investment risks caused by the global fiat debt crisis, inflation, and geopolitical tensions," Strive CEO Matt Cole told CoinDesk. "We strongly believe there is no better long-term investment to hedge against these risks than thoughtful exposure to bitcoin."

"Strive's first of many planned bitcoin solutions will democratize access to bitcoin bonds, which are bonds issued by corporations to purchase bitcoin. We believe these bonds provide attractive risk-return exposure to bitcoin, yet they are not available to be purchased by most investors," he added.