Canada’s first Bitcoin ETF broke trading records last month

Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) accounted for nearly 20% of all ETF sales on Canadian stock bitcoin last month, reports Globe and Mail.

That works out to be over CAD$1 billion ($800,000) in sales for Canada’s first batch of Bitcoin ETFs throughout February.

So far, Canadian exchanges have listed three Bitcoin ETFs managed individually by investment funds Purpose, Evolve, and Galaxy Digital.

Purpose’s Bitcoin vehicle has found the most success by far with first mover’s advantage. The fund’s assets under management reportedly hit CAD$1 billion last week.

For scale, the Canadian ETF market reportedly manages nearly CAD$270 billion ($216 billion) in assets overall.

According to data from local institution National Bank Financial (via Globe and Mail):

• Purpose’s sold more than CAD$260 million ($208 million) on its first day.
• $630 million ($504 million) worth of shares was traded in the ETF’s first five days.
• This made Purpose’s Bitcoin fund the most actively traded ETF in Canadian history.

Evolve and Galaxy’s offerings contain far less Bitcoin than Purpose (under $100 million each).

A Bitcoin ETF on US exchanges?

These products offer investors exposure to Bitcoin’s price movements. Instead of buying and holding the cryptocurrency themselves, one can purchase stock in a fund that holds the digital asset for them.

While Canada has now approved three, the US has none — despite dozens of attempts over the years from all corners of the industry.

[Read more: Brian Armstrong on track for $3.4B payday as Coinbase goes public]

How close the US market really is to its own Bitcoin ETF is anyone’s guess. However, the SEC’s new chief Gary Gensler has some insiders tipping one could finally be on the horizon.

This time around, Wall Street’s VanEck, WisdomTree, and Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital are waiting to hear back about their own open-ended Bitcoin funds, alongside Texas-based Valkyrie.