The Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States saw a remarkable surge in trading volume, hitting a record $10 billion on March 5.

This surge coincided with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high before experiencing a sharp decline of approximately 12% within five hours.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described these trading volumes as unprecedented for ETFs that are less than two months old.

Alessandro Ottaviani, a Bitcoin analyst, reported a slightly lower trading volume of $9.58 billion for the funds, still surpassing the previous record set on February 28.

Among the ETFs, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) led in trading volume with $3.7 billion, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $2.8 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

Bitcoin experienced significant price fluctuations during the U.S. trading day, reaching a peak of $69,200 around 3:00 pm UTC on March 5, then dropping by 12% to a low of $60,860 about five hours later, as reported by CoinGecko.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin had partially recovered to $63,350.

Both IBIT and FBTC recorded declines of around 8.6% on the day, mirroring similar price drops in other spot Bitcoin ETFs, according to Google Finance.

In light of the market volatility, pseudonymous analyst Bit Paine humorously remarked that for newcomers entering Bitcoin through ETFs, such price swings are a typical occurrence, likening them to a "monthly ritual during bull markets" aimed at flushing out "leveraged degenerates."

This sentiment was acknowledged by Balchunas, who noted the absence of protective measures such as trading halts and government intervention, contrasting it with conventional markets.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-etfs-set-volume-record-btc-price-high

https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1765121689036427654

https://twitter.com/EricBalchunas/status/1765121689036427654

https://x.com/AlexOttaBTC/status/1765125586706641170

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin