A year ago, Samara Cohen believed that there was significant pent-up demand for bitcoin, so she and her team at Blackrock launched one of the first spot bitcoin exchange traded products in the USA. Now, investors are flocking in, many of whom are cryptocurrency enthusiasts on Wall Street.

Cohen is the Chief Investment Officer for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Index Investments at Blackrock. She said Blackrock now sees market demand as a better way to access bitcoin, "It's for ETF packaging."

Currently, the total market capitalization of all 11 spot bitcoin ETFs exceeds $63 billion, with total inflows close to $20 billion. In just the past five trading days, net inflows for spot bitcoin ETFs have exceeded $2.1 billion, with Blackrock accounting for half.

As bitcoin trading volumes soar, bitcoin hit its highest level since July this week, with trading prices exceeding $68,300. By the end of the third quarter, bitcoin prices had risen by about 140% compared to the same period last year, outperforming the S&P 500 index as these spot token funds and cryptocurrency market cap rose in sync. Cryptocurrency-related stock Coinbase closed up approximately 24% this week, marking its best week since February.

Cohen said that part of the strategy to attract client investments in their funds is to introduce the benefits of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) to cryptocurrency investors.

13F filings show that in the USA, 80% of the buyers of these new spot bitcoin products are direct investors. The filing provides quarterly data on the stock positions of large investors. Cohen stated that among the 80% direct investors, 75% had never held iShares before, iShares being one of the most well-known and largest ETF providers globally.

Cohen said, "So, we started this journey, hoping we need to educate ETF investors about cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin." "It turns out we have already educated a large number of cryptocurrency investors on the benefits of ETP packaging."

Before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a bitcoin spot ETF in January of this year, investors had several ways to purchase and custody cryptocurrencies. Centralized exchanges like Coinbase are one of the most user-friendly options for American investors. However, the sensational debut of Bitcoin ETPs made Cohen and others on Wall Street realize that cryptocurrency exchanges do not provide everything digital asset investors need.