Why Does Wall Street Only Embrace Bitcoin and Ethereum? A Look at the Top 20 Spot ETFs

▲ Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) ©Dasol Ko

Tens of thousands of virtual assets are traded, but Wall Street and institutional investors' choices are effectively concentrated on two assets: Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Out of the top 20 virtual asset spot ETFs by assets under management (AUM), as many as 18 are filled with Bitcoin and Ethereum products, leading to the assessment that these two assets have become core virtual assets in institutional portfolios.

According to the investment media The Motley Fool on September 29 (local time), among the top 20 virtual asset spot ETFs by AUM, Bitcoin products accounted for 12 and Ethereum products for 6. The remaining two are Solana (SOL) spot ETFs. In particular, Bitcoin is the largest virtual asset, accounting for about 60% of the total virtual asset market value, and shows an overwhelming proportion in the spot ETF market as well.

Leading among Bitcoin ETFs is BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). IBIT's assets under management amount to approximately $70 billion, and 7 out of the top 10 overall virtual asset ETFs are Bitcoin-related products. This means that institutional investors now have significantly expanded options to invest in Bitcoin through various ETFs without directly holding BTC.

The Motley Fool cited the co-existence of upside potential and downside risk protection as key reasons why institutional investors prefer Bitcoin. BlackRock has also described Bitcoin as a unique portfolio diversifier. The media explained that Bitcoin differentiates itself from traditional investment assets by possessing characteristics of both risk-on and risk-off assets simultaneously.

Bitcoin's price appreciation record was also presented as a factor supporting institutional demand. Bitcoin, which was around $600 about 10 years ago, is currently trading at approximately $85,000 and rose to $126,000 last year. The Motley Fool analyzed that Bitcoin's high upside potential has attracted institutional investors' interest, citing that Bitcoin has been one of the highest-performing assets globally over the past decade.

Ethereum also secured its place as a core virtual asset for Wall Street alongside Bitcoin, accounting for 6 of the top 20 spot ETFs. The media presented Ethereum's provision of investment exposure to the rapidly growing decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, including stablecoins and asset tokenization, as its main strength. Ultimately, based on the fund distribution in the spot ETF market, institutional investors' choice of virtual assets is strongly concentrated on Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Solana forming the structure that follows.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*