ProShares ETF for Stablecoin Reserves Sets Record with $17 Billion Trading Volume

The ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF (NYSE: IQMM) achieved a trading volume of $17 billion at its market launch on Thursday, setting a new record for ETF debuts. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, this figure is several times higher than the previous record. For comparison: BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF reached only $1 billion on its first day in January 2024 ^[1].

The fund focuses exclusively on short-term, highly liquid investments such as U.S. Treasury securities—precisely the assets that stablecoin issuers in the U.S. have been required to hold as full reserves for their dollar-pegged tokens since the GENIUS Act took effect in July ^[1].

Market observers suspect large institutional investors are behind the extraordinary volume. Nate Geraci of NovaDius Wealth Management speculates that the capital may have come from a major U.S. stablecoin issuer. He suggests a possible agreement between ProShares and one of the leading providers, with Circle being the most likely candidate in his assessment ^[1].