The trading volume of VanEck’s HODL ETF has skyrocketed by over 2200%, surpassing $400 million in a single day, before a management fee reduction from 0.25% to 0.20%, placing HODL third in daily volume.
A Meteoric Growth in the Market
In anticipation of the imminent fee reduction, VanEck’s HODL ETF saw its trading volume soar to over $400 million in a day, compared to a daily average of $17 million. This sudden increase comes just before the fee reduction of the ETF, dropping from 0.25% to 0.20% the following Wednesday. With nearly $200 million in bitcoin holdings as of February 20, HODL ranked third in daily volume, just behind market leaders such as Grayscale’s GBTC and BlockRock’s IBIT ETFs.
This spectacular increase in trading volumes may reflect the growing influence of social media on financial markets. Eric Balchunas, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, suggested that this surge could be the result of recommendations from influencers on platforms like Reddit or TikTok, attracting an “army” of retail investors. Data indicates that volumes came from 32,000 individual transactions, rather than a single institutional investor, highlighting massive retail investor participation.
The unprecedented frenzy surrounding VanEck’s HODL ETF contributed to a record day for Bitcoin ETF trading volumes since their introduction in January.
