Key Takeaways:

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs hit a new high with $10 billion in trading volume on March 5, surpassing the previous record of $7.7 billion.
Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high of $69,200, then dropped 12% within five hours, showcasing the cryptocurrency’s inherent price volatility.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF led the trading volume at $3.7 billion, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
After the sharp decline, Bitcoin’s price managed a partial recovery, indicating the resilient nature of its market value despite volatility.
The day’s events prompted discussions on the unique volatility of the cryptocurrency market compared to traditional markets, emphasizing the lack of government intervention or bailouts in the crypto space.

On March 5, U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a remarkable trading volume of $10 billion, surpassing the previous week’s record of $7.7 billion. This surge occurred as Bitcoin reached a new all-time high, only to fall by about 12% within the following five hours.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the extraordinary performance of these ETFs, which are less than two months old, through a post on X, noting their “bananas numbers.”

MILESTONE: the ten Bitcoin ETFs did $10b in volume today, smashing prev record set last Wed.. Volatility and volume go hand in hand with ETFs so not totally surprised. That said these are bananas numbers for ETfs under 2mo old. $IBIT, $FBTC, $BITB, $ARKB all w record days. pic.twitter.com/rIdbhoYifV
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 5, 2024

Bitcoin analyst Alessandro Ottaviani reported a slightly lower volume of $9.58 billion for the same funds, yet this still exceeded the former record of $7.7 billion from February 28. Among these, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF led with a $3.7 billion volume, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, which recorded $2.8 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

#Bitcoin ETF Volume results of Tuesday 5th of March (37th trading day):

🥇 $IBIT $3,707m
🥈 $GBTC $2,794m
🥉 $FBTC $2,029m
🪵🏅$ARKB $485m

Total Volume for The Nine: circa $6.8b!

Simply, the best day in terms of amount of volume since the ETF launch.

🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

Looking… https://t.co/9Cc7OK62ks pic.twitter.com/FmNfDdd9M6
— Alessandro Ottaviani (@AlexOttaBTC) March 5, 2024

Throughout the U.S. trading day, Bitcoin’s price exhibited significant volatility, peaking at $69,200 and then dropping 12% to $60,860, as per CoinGecko data. Despite the dip, Bitcoin’s price managed to recover eventually as can be seen in the chart below.

latest bitcoin price chart — Bitcoin price chart. Source: CoinGecko

This price fluctuation reflects a broader trend of volatility in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin’s value decreasing by over 6% in the last 24 hours. The impact was also felt among the spot Bitcoin ETFs, such as IBIT and FBTC, which both experienced an 8.6% decrease in value, aligning with similar declines across other spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The day’s events sparked commentary on the nature of cryptocurrency market dynamics compared to traditional markets.

A pseudonymous analyst, Bit Paine, humorously addressed newcomers to Bitcoin via ETFs, explaining the volatility as a regular occurrence designed to eliminate over-leveraged positions. This contrasts with traditional markets, where regulatory mechanisms and federal interventions often stabilize significant fluctuations.

Dear Boomies,

We call this, “the flushing of the leveraged degenerates,” and it is a monthly ritual during bull markets.

You are not used to this. In your markets, the government steps in to stop trading bail you out if your boomer stocks fall more than 10% in a day.

Welcome…
— Bit Paine ⚡️ (@BitPaine) March 5, 2024