Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) globally have reached a significant milestone, collectively holding over 1 million BTC, currently valued at nearly $68 billion.

These investment vehicles, designed to track the price or provide exposure to Bitcoin, have seen remarkable growth. The surge was notably propelled by the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in mid-January. Since their launch, the 11 U.S.-based ETFs have accumulated 855,619 BTC, averaging a daily intake of approximately 6,200 BTC.

Data from HODL15Capital indicates that an additional 21 Bitcoin ETPs, available in countries such as Canada, Germany, and Brazil, contribute to a combined total of 1,002,343 BTC. This amount represents about 5.08% of Bitcoin's current circulating supply of 19,704,484 BTC, according to CoinGecko.

Grayscale's GBTC remains the largest holder among these funds, with 289,040 BTC, valued around $19.9 billion. However, it is closely followed by BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which holds 287,168 BTC worth approximately $19.8 billion. Given the current trends, IBIT is poised to surpass GBTC if it continues to attract inflows and GBTC experiences outflows.

The landscape of Bitcoin holdings has dramatically shifted since GBTC converted into a spot ETF in mid-January, leading to a reduction of around 330,960 BTC, or 53% of its former holdings.

HODL15Capital raised an intriguing point in a separate post on May 28 on social media platform X, questioning whether the rise of ETFs has impacted the growth of Bitcoin held in self-custody. Analysis shows that there has been no increase in self-custody from 2023 to 2024, mirroring a similar stagnation observed between 2017 and 2018. Currently, only 1 million addresses hold 1 BTC or more, as reported by LookIntoBitcoin.

This shift towards Bitcoin ETPs highlights a growing institutional interest and the evolving dynamics of Bitcoin ownership, posing questions about the future of self-custody and decentralized holdings.