First spot Bitcoin ETF in US begins trading in pre-market with double-digit gains
The first-ever spot Bitcoin 
BTCUSD exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States has started trading in the pre-market a day after its approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, with the ticker symbol IBIT, started trading in the pre-market and is currently up 22.25%, trading at $26.81. The iShares trust is listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
At the time of writing, IBIT had traded a significant volume of $2 million worth of shares in the pre-market, highlighted Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. He added that such a high volume would be a great first full day for an average ETF but also cautioned that this initial volume may be BlackRock driven.
Eric Balchunas@EricBalchunasJan 11, 2024$IBIT has already traded $2m worth of shares traded. That would be a great first FULL day for a normal ETF let alone at 6am bf mkt, BUT.. this volume is likely BlackRock orchestrated, slowly loading in the BYOA $ it had lined up. Still tho good early sign of big day. pic.twitter.com/IV19iHfqYB
Apart from BlackRock, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ETF also started trading in the pre-market. GBTC shares were up 2% during pre-market trading hours. GBTC is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Pre-market trading is the process of trading assets before the markets open, or in simple terms, trading before the regular market trading hours begin. Pre-market trading usually occurs between 8:00 am and 9:30 am Eastern Time. Traders often use pre-market movements to monitor how markets might operate post-opening.
In the landmark judgment, the SEC approved the 19b-4 applications from ARK 21 Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, allowing their spot Bitcoin ETFs to be listed and traded on various public exchanges.
The official trading for all 11 approved spot BTC ETFs will begin when markets open on Jan. 11. However, the pre-market trading data looks bullish for the new regulated investment product for U.S. investors.
The Bitcoin price didn’t react much to the official approval of the first-ever spot BTC ETF, trading around the $46,000 mark before and after the approval. Many crypto enthusiasts pointed out that the BTC price reacted more significantly to the fake ETF approval news on Jan.9, rising as high as $48,000. However, market pundits suggested that the price might see more bullish action with the start of official trading as analysts expect billions to flow into the ETFs.
Bitcoin’s price is currently trading above $46,500, with just a couple of hours left before trading commences.