Research from senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas and associate analyst Andre Yapp suggests that the rise of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is already threatening to overtake gold ETFs in assets under management.

Institutional investors are heavily allocating their portfolios toward Ether, followed closely by Bitcoin, while retail investors are focusing more on the flagship cryptocurrency and holding a wider variety of altcoins, according to a report from Bybit.

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is expected to miss the start of his fraud trial set for March 25th before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This delay stems from ongoing complications in his extradition proceedings currently taking place in Montenegro.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin ETFs Outshine Gold ETFs Since Launch
• Institutions Shift Focus to Ether Over Bitcoin, While Retail Investors Bet on BTC
• Terraform Labs Founder Likely to Miss SEC Trial as Extradition Stalls

Bitcoin ETFs Outshine Gold ETFs Since Launch

Research from senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas and associate analyst Andre Yapp suggests that the rise of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is already threatening to overtake gold ETFs in assets under management.

The report points out that the recent launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States has increased competition for gold as an investment vehicle, with these spot BTC ETFs accumulating over 5,500 BTC since launch. It adds:

“The Bitcoin ETFs, though barely six weeks old, have taken in over $8 billion more than gold peers, already have 40% as much in assets and could pass them in size in less than two years.”

According to the report, while spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted over $5 billion in inflows since launch, gold ETFs have garnered around $3.6 billion. Gold’s price has meanwhile dropped around 1.5% year-to-date, while BTC is up more than 29% over the same period.

This performance, according to the report, could contribute to difficulties for gold ETFs to maintain their $90 billion in assets under management.

Institutions Shift Focus to Ether Over Bitcoin, While Retail Investors Bet on BTC

Institutional investors are heavily allocating their portfolios toward Ether, followed closely by Bitcoin, while retail investors are focusing more on the flagship cryptocurrency and holding a wider variety of altcoins, according to a report from Bybit.

The report, based on surveys with traders on the exchange, indicates that institutions have increased their concentration in BTC and ETH to 80% of their cryptocurrency holdings.

This shift towards ETH is attributed to the anticipated Dencun upgrade, which is expected to further enhance the network's efficiency and scalability. Ether has also outperformed Bitcoin so far this year after a 33% year-to-date rally.

This trend marks a change from December 2023, when Bybit's previous report showed that institutions were favoring Bitcoin while remaining cautious about Ether. Institutions were at the time allocating their ETH and altcoin holdings into Bitcoin, in anticipation of the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.

Bybit also observed a significant decrease in institutional interest in altcoins, particularly in volatile categories like memecoins, AI tokens, and BRC-20 tokens. Instead, institutions are focusing on more stable assets like layer-1 tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

Terraform Labs Founder Likely to Miss SEC Trial as Extradition Stalls

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is expected to miss the start of his fraud trial set for March 25th before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This delay stems from ongoing complications in his extradition proceedings currently taking place in Montenegro.

Kwon's lawyer, David Patton, filed a letter in a New York federal court on Monday stating that Kwon does not intend to request a postponement of the trial date, despite his desire to attend in person. This desire previously led to the trial being rescheduled from January to March.

Goran Rodic, Kwon's Montenegrin lawyer, reportedly attached a declaration to Patton's letter citing "numerous unanticipated mistakes" made by the local lower court, causing delays in the extradition process.

The SEC has accused Kwon and Terraform Labs of fraudulently raising billions from investors through "offering and selling an inter-connected suite of crypto asset securities, many in unregistered transactions." Kwon has consistently denied these allegations.

Kwon and Terraform Labs’ Terra ecosystem, experienced a dramatic collapse in May 2022, erasing approximately $40 billion in investor wealth in days.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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