Bitcoin ETF roars in debut with $80 million of first-hour trades

North America’s first Bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its first day of trading, with investors exchanging $80 million worth of shares in the first hour.

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (ticker BTCC), which debuted in Toronto on Thursday, invests directly in “physical/digital Bitcoin,” issuer Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement. Its the first product ever for Bitcoin that’s officially labeled an exchange-traded fund, although Europe has several “physically backed” Bitcoin products that function like an ETF.

While it’s unclear how much of the activity in BTCC will result in inflows for the fund, the trading volumes are well above an ETF’s typical first day, even in the much bigger US market.