‘BITSANITY’ — Bitcoin ETFs and Stocks Hit Record $70B in Trading Volume

On November 21, trading volumes for the "Bitcoin Industrial Complex," including US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks like MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN), surged to an all-time high of $70 billion. This spike came as Bitcoin’s price rose above $98,300, breaking previous records.

The new trading volume surpassed the prior record of $55 billion set just the day before, when MicroStrategy became the second most-traded stock in the US, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. He dubbed the phenomenon “BITSANITY” due to the massive trading activity.

MicroStrategy (MSTR) dominated the trading volume, as its stock plummeted by over 25% from its peak of $536.7 to $397.28 by the market close on November 21. This drop coincided with Bitcoin’s 5% rally, which helped it hit a new all-time high of $98,311, according to CoinGecko data. Bitcoin’s price slightly retraced to $98,075 but remains just under 2% away from the $100,000 milestone.

This surge in trading volume comes alongside the milestone that US spot Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $100 billion in assets under management (AUM) on November 21. Since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 11, inflows into these funds have reached $29.3 billion. This figure includes more than $20.2 billion in outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Balchunas highlighted that US spot Bitcoin ETFs are now 82% as large as gold ETFs, which have been traded in US markets since November 2004. Leading the charge is the BlackRock-issued iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which has seen $30.2 billion in inflows. Following behind are the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $11.2 billion and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF with $2.7 billion in inflows.

Additionally, options contracts on the IBIT ETF launched on November 20, with nearly $2 billion in total exposure traded. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that the impressive trading volume likely contributed to Bitcoin surpassing the $94,000 mark earlier in the day.