ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – a bitcoin futures fund offered in the U.S. – hit a high of $1.47 billion in assets under management this week, surging past a record set in December 2021. The increase indicates renewed institutional demand for bitcoin (BTC) from regulated and accredited investors as a flurry of bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications were filed in the U.S. BITO, listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), allows investors to gain exposure to bitcoin-linked returns through a regulated product. “Investor demand for BITO remains strong, as shown by the ETF reaching a new high in assets under management,” Simeon Hyman, global investment strategist at ProShares, said in a statement to CoinDesk. “We believe this speaks to the demand for a familiar, accessible and regulated way to target the returns of bitcoin.”

(Cheyenne Ligon/CoinDesk)

Grayscale, the manager of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is updating the trust’s agreement for the first time since 2018, according to a Wednesday filing. The aim is to optimize GBTC’s structure for an anticipated change to a spot bitcoin ETF and level the playing field when it comes to other applicants including asset-management giant BlackRock. The update, which will be put out for a shareholder vote, involves two proposed modifications to the trust agreement. The first allows fees, which had been collected by Grayscale on a monthly basis, to be payable daily. This is a structural tweak and not part of a fee reduction – something Grayscale has committed to, but which has not been finalized – a company spokeswoman said.

Cathie Wood's investment management firm ARK Invest sold a further $5 million worth of Coinbase (COIN) stock on Wednesday while buying $2 million of shares in trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) and $1.5 million of online bank SoFi Technologies (SOFI). The sale of 38,668 COIN shares from the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) follows the offload of 43,956 shares on Monday. COIN was largely static on Wednesday, closing down 0.35% at $127.82. The HOOD purchase was ARK's seventh of the month, and coincides with Robinhood starting to offer stocks trading in the U.K., its third attempt at international expansion. ARK has spent some $13.5 million on Robinhood this month, based on closing prices. The shares rose 3.24% to $8.92 on Wednesday.

A message from Paypal

The FTX estate was granted approval to sell its trust assets, including shares of Grayscale and Bitwise investment funds worth roughly $873 million, according to a Delaware bankruptcy court document filed on Friday and CoinDesk analysis.

"The debtors are authorized, but not directed, to execute sales of the trust assets, in their reasonable business judgment, in accordance with the following sale procedures," the filing said.

The court also expanded crypto investment firm Galaxy's mandate to assist FTX in selling the trust assets, according to a Tuesday court filing. FTX tapped Galaxy earlier this year to manage the estate's vast digital asset holdings.