Vetle Lunde, an analyst at the crypto market research firm K33 Research, announced on December 17 via X that the assets under management (AUM) of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the United States have officially overtaken those of gold ETFs, marking a significant milestone.
While gold ETFs debuted in 2003, giving gold a substantial head start, Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US only launched in January 2024 after facing years of regulatory delays. Despite this difference in market entry, Bitcoin ETFs have surpassed gold ETFs in AUM, indicating increasing confidence in the digital asset from both institutional and retail investors.
Lunde emphasized this achievement, stating that in the United States, Bitcoin ETF AUM has surpassed gold ETF AUM, noting that gold, with its twenty-year lead, has been “flipped.”
The approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs has been a turning point for cryptocurrency adoption within traditional financial markets, as these products offer investors direct exposure to Bitcoin without requiring them to hold the asset directly, thereby connecting digital assets and traditional finance.
