Spot Encryption ETF Development Review: Milestones of 2024 and Outlook for 2025

2024 is a milestone year for the cryptocurrency market. On January 11, the United States approved the listing of the first Bitcoin Spot ETF, marking a new chapter in history. The trading volume on the first day reached $4.6 billion, with a net inflow of $628 million. Subsequently, countries such as Hong Kong and Australia also launched Bitcoin Spot ETFs, further promoting the legalization process of global crypto assets. To date, the asset size of U.S. crypto ETFs has exceeded $122.39 billion, while Hong Kong has reached $46.7 million.

2024 witnessed the transition of encryption assets into mainstream assets. According to the latest data, various institutions hold encryption ETFs, including donation funds, pension funds, hedge funds, and more. In this trend, ETFs for other digital assets such as Solana and XRP are gradually entering the public eye, laying the foundation for development in 2025.

Key Milestones Review: Year of Birth of the Encryption Spot ETF

Bitcoin Spot ETF development history

On January 11, the United States officially approved the listing of Bitcoin Spot ETF. The trading volume on the first day exceeded $4.6 billion, with a net inflow of $628 million. One week after its launch, the managed asset scale of the US Bitcoin ETF has surpassed that of the silver ETF, becoming the second largest ETF commodity category in the United States.

In April, Hong Kong approved and listed 6 virtual asset Spot ETFs, with a fundraising scale of approximately 2 billion HKD on the first day and a net asset value of 293 million USD. The total trading volume was approximately 87.58 million HKD.

In June, Australia's first Bitcoin Spot ETF began trading, and the Thai Securities Commission also approved the local first Bitcoin Spot ETF.

In September and October, the SEC approved the listing of BlackRock Bitcoin ETF options and various Spot Bitcoin ETF options trading on Nasdaq, further expanding the scope of Bitcoin-related derivatives.

Ethereum Spot ETF development process

In April, Hong Kong approved the Ethereum Spot ETF. The net inflow on the first day was 14,200 ETH, with a trading volume of 2.99 million USD.

In May, the SEC approved the first Spot Ethereum ETF's 19b-4 filing.

In July, the US SEC officially approved the Ethereum Spot ETF. The trading volume on the first day exceeded $1.019 billion, with a net inflow of $106.6 million.

In November, the SEC delayed its decision on listing Spot Ethereum ETF options on the New York Stock Exchange to conduct further analysis and gather public opinion.

Other encryption-related ETF developments

In June, the first Solana Spot ETF application in North America was submitted.

In August, Brazil approved the world's first Solana Spot ETF, followed by the approval of the second one.

In November and December, various types of encryption-related ETFs were launched or entered the application stage, including XRP and multi-asset portfolios.

ETF Data Performance Analysis

The total assets under management of ETFs listed in the United States exceed $10 trillion, with $40 billion invested in the encryption field, accounting for 0.4%. In 2024, the net inflow of Bitcoin Spot ETFs accounted for 3.5% of all net inflows of US ETFs.

The liquidity of Bitcoin ETFs is 4.5 times that of inflation-adjusted gold ETFs. The BTC holdings of the US Bitcoin Spot ETF have surpassed 1.13 million coins, exceeding Satoshi Nakamoto's holdings.

As of December 24, the total net inflow of Bitcoin Spot ETF in the United States reached $35.49 billion, with a total asset net value of $110 billion. BlackRock's IBIT net asset value accounts for nearly 50%, reaching $53.7 billion.

The inflow and liquidity of the US Ethereum Spot ETF have significantly increased since November. As of December 24, the total net inflow reached $2.51 billion, with a total net asset value of $12.35 billion. On December 5, the single-day net inflow set a historical record of $428 million.

2025 Outlook for Encryption ETF

Multiple Solana ETF applications will face their first review deadline in January 2025. The 10 types of encryption index ETFs and the Bitcoin Ethereum ETF submitted by Bitwise will also be reviewed in January.

Applications for ETFs of crypto assets such as XRP, Litecoin, and HBAR are also awaiting approval. The final decision on the Ethereum Spot ETF options may be made around April 2025.

Industry predictions suggest that the following developments may occur in 2025:

• The staking feature may be integrated into the Ethereum ETF
• Solana and other encryption currency ETFs may be launched
• Weighted encryption index ETF may appear
• ETF inflows are expected to continue to increase.
• The new SEC leadership may approve more Spot encryption ETPs.
• Bitcoin ETF inflows in 2025 may exceed those in 2024.

Despite the ongoing regulatory challenges, the continued participation of institutional investors and the gradual maturation of the market will provide more momentum for the future development of the encryption industry. It is expected that encryption assets will become an important component of global investment portfolios, driving the deep integration of traditional finance and digital assets.