Is the Exchange-Traded product currently the largest holder of Bitcoin? In today’s Crypto on Advisors Newsletter, Trackinsight’s Rony Abboud and ETF Central categorize current ETF trends.

Coindesk research leader Joshua de Vos then answers investment questions about ETFs in “Ask an Expert.”

Thank you to the sponsors of this week’s newsletter, Grayscale Investments. For financial advisors near Minneapolis, Grayscale hosts Crypto Connect on Thursday, September 18th. Please see details.

– Sarah Morton

5 Crypto ETF Charts I thought I’d asked for this month.

Crypto officially enters the mainstream of ETFs, and numbers tell the story.

ETPS holds a bitcoin crown

If you missed it, then crypto exchange sales products (ETPS) According to data compiled by X’s Hold15 Capital, he has become the largest owner of Bitcoin, currently sitting on 1.47 million coins.

According to bitcointreasuries.net, public companies have just over 1 million, followed by the government, which holds around 526,000

Looking closely, BlackRock’s iShares IBit Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Leading the pack with 749,000 coins, Fidelity’s FBTC holds 201,000 and Grayscale’s GBTC sits at 185,000. As more investors, particularly institutions, dive into a more friendly US crypto government, the proportion of that supply could continue to climb.

Cryptography moves to the mainstream of ETFs

Cryptocurrency has become an important topic in the TrackInsight Global ETF research.

This year’s edition attracted insights from more than 600 professional investors overseeing ETF assets of more than $1 trillion. They shared their views on the Active, Theme, ESG, Bonds and Crypto segments.

When asked about their appetite for Crypto ETFs in 2025, more than half said they plan to increase their client portfolio allocation.

Crypto ETFs break into the big leagues

According to ETF Central’s ETF segment dashboard, US cryptocurrency ETFs have ranked eighth in net inflows over the past year. This is another indication of how strong this asset class has become since accessed through the ETF wrapper. The results of the TrackInsight Survey reflect that shift, showing that once hesitant professional investors are now increasingly open to crypto.

Solana and XRP ETFS show edges close to the spotlight

With Bitcoin and etheric ETFs already established, Solana and XRP are lining up their own spot debuts. Optimism is high, but the SEC has not yet approved submission. Still, the launch potential is better than ever, as the legal cloud around Ripple is lifted and Washington’s more encryption-friendly regulatory environment.

In the meantime, investors have been gaining momentum through US futures-based Solana and XRP ETFs. North of the border, Canada is already moving ahead with spot launches, but Europe continues to lead billing with ETP, which covers almost all major cryptocurrencies, including Solana and XRP.

Since 2024, XRP and Solana ETPS have attracted net inflows of $2.02 billion and $1.35 billion worldwide, gaining momentum after the initial associated US Spot ETF filing.

Big Race: Gold and Crypto

The visual highlights the battle for a key trend in modern finance: the location of investors portfolio.

Gold, a perennial repository of value, remains a key hedge against inflation and geopolitical disruption, keeping the lead by ETP approaching its $400 billion assets.

However, the explosive growth of Crypto ETP marks a new era as it races over $200 billion.

This is not a zero-sum game. Instead, the chart suggests that in an uncertain world, investors look to both assets and offer various forms of protection and growth.

-Rony Abboud, Role, Chief Marketing Officer, TrackInsight and ETF Central

Ask the expert

Q: What happened in the global Crypto ETF/ETP flow in August?

Etherlink products have raised $4.27 billion in August’s net inflow, driven by the strongest monthly intake of the year and primarily US listed funds.

Bitcoin products saw a net outflow of $169.1 million at the category level despite publisher-level diversification. Solana and XRP products recorded inflows of $383.4 million and $279.7 million, respectively, signaling selective diversification beyond BTC and ETH.

Geography flow:

• Americas: Net inflow of $4.92 billion. Continuing global allocations and transactions.
• Europe: Net flow rates of $108 million, reflecting softer demand across several markets.
• APAC: Net inflow with incremental increases led by Hong Kong and Australia is $70 million.

Q: How has the US been positioned since the debut of the publicly listed Crypto ETF and ETPS?

Since Bitcoin ETF became available in January 2024, US listed products have become the central venue for regulated digital asset exposure, with vehicles from US denominations at 94% of global activity.

For investors, this magnitude and consistency of participation highlights the US’s role as a key market for crypto price discovery and capital formation.

Q: What policy developments continue to define the background behind Crypto ETF’s US operations?

• The SEC’s move to allow for the creation/red of spot Bitcoin and ether products in physical form supports more efficient primary market operations and closer spreads.
• Major exchanges also propose general listing criteria for product-based ETPs (Includes digital asset products)if adopted, streamline future product approvals.
• In parallel, the committee extended the review period for certain single asset proposals (Includes Solana)Clustering some famous decisions in October.

Together, these steps strengthen structural clarity as the market matures.

-Joshua vossiarch, Resenarch, Coindesk

Continue reading

Institutional investors increased their Ethereum (ETH) exposure via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by 388,301 ETH in the second quarter, with investment advisors commanding the largest share of adoption across traditional finance sectors.

According to data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, investment advisor firms control $1.35 billion in Ethereum ETF exposure, representing 539,757 ETH and capturing 219,668 ETH in net additions during the past quarter.

Investment advisors dwarf other institutional segments, with hedge fund managers ranking second at $687 million in exposure. Their holdings are equivalent to 274,757 ETH, representing a 104% increase from the first quarter.

Growing institutional adoption

Goldman Sachs leads individual institutional holders with $721.8 million in Ethereum ETF positions, equivalent to 288,294 ETH exposure.

Jane Street Group follows at $190.4 million, while Millennium Management commands $186.9 million in ETF shares.

The concentration among top-tier Wall Street firms demonstrates institutional acceptance of Ethereum as a legitimate asset class within traditional portfolios.

Brokerage firms generated the third-largest exposure category at $253 million, adding 13,525 ETH (15.4%) positions during the quarter.

Private equity and holding companies contributed $62.2 million and $60.6 million, respectively, while pension funds and banks reduced their hands on Ethereum exposure.

Total institutional exposure across all categories tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence reached $2.44 billion by the end of the second quarter, representing 975,650 ETH in combined holdings.

The third quarter could also potentially show substantial increases in institutional participation based on the numbers so far.

Data from Farside Investors shows Ethereum ETF inflows surged from $4.2 billion on June 30 to $13.3 billion by Aug. 26, marking an over threefold increase and a new all-time high in cumulative inflows. August alone generated approximately $3.7 billion in additional flows.

The acceleration follows the continued adoption of Ethereum as a corporate treasury asset. Data compiled by the Strategic ETH Reserve shows that 17 publicly listed companies hold 3.4 million ETH, worth nearly $15.7 billion.

SharpLink registered the latest acquisition on Aug. 26, adding 56,533 ETH to its treasury, bringing its total to 797,704 ETH. However, it remains significantly lower than BitMine’s 1,713,899 ETH hoard, worth nearly $8 billion.

Mentioned in this article

Artificial Intelligence is still in its early days and there are a lot of bugs to be worked out.

However, one area that I have found it tremendously useful is in the area of creating automated trading robots for trading platforms like MetaTrader 4.

So in this tutorial, I’ll show you how I’m using ChatGPT to create custom MT4 EAs. This process can be very fast and for simple EAs, you don’t even know how to code.

If you prefer the text version, it’s provided below the video.

Tutorial Video

How to Create an EA with ChatGPT

All of these steps should be done in a demo account. 

Never use an EA with real money until you’re absolutely sure that it’s working properly. 

Step 1: Have a Trading Strategy

You can get a trading strategy from almost anywhere…books, websites, YouTube or something you just made up.

Ideally, you should have a trading strategy that you’ve already backtested.

But if you just want to go through the process to see how it works, then just use the example code in the section below.

Step 2: Describe it to ChatGPT

Ask it to create an EA for MT4.

Then explain the rules as clearly as you can to ChatGPT. Write as if you were writing to a friend.

It will generate the code that you need for MT4.

Copy this code from ChatGPT

Step 3: Copy and Paste the Code into MT4

Then open the MetaQuotes Language Editor via the tool bar at the top.

Click the New button to create a new EA.

Select Expert Advisor, give it a name, then leave the rest of the settings blank. Keep hitting the Next button until you get to the end of the wizard.

That will give you a blank EA template.

Click anywhere in the code, then use Control + A to select all of the text. Then hit Backspace to delete all of the default code, then Control + V on your keyboard to paste in the ChatGPT code.

Click on the Compile button to generate the EA.

Step 4: Check for Errors

If there are any errors or warnings in the code, go back and ask ChatGPT to fix them.

It will generate new code.

Repeat step 3 above to start using the new code.

Step 5: Add the EA to a Chart and Start Testing

Once all the errors and warnings are gone, then you’re ready to start using the EA.

Go to the main MT4 screen and look for the EA in the Navigator window.

Click and drag your new EA onto the chart.

There should be the name of your EA in the upper right corner of the chart you added it to, next to a happy face.

If the face is sad, click on the AutoTrading button at the top to activate the EA. The happy face shows that the EA is activated.

Now test the EA to see if it’s working properly.

Test all of the regular features AND try to “break” the EA by doing things that it might not expect. This will show you how robust it is and will give you confidence in it.

If you have any issues, go back to ChatGPT and work on fixing them.

This may take several tries, but keep at it.

Example Code

If you want to give this a try, here’s the example code. Simply copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT and it will generate the code for this EA.

Important: This is for educational purposes only and should NOT be used in live trading. It’s only provided to help you understand how to EA creation process works. There’s a very high probability that this strategy will lose money.

“Please create an Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 4 that executes these rules:

1. Indicators

2. Long Entry

   • Condition: Short SMA (2) > Long SMA (36)

   • AND price closes below the Short SMA

   • Action: Open a buy at the close of that bar

3. Long Exit

4. Short Entry

   • Condition: Short SMA (2) < Long SMA (36)

   • AND price closes above the Short SMA

   • Action: Open a sell at the close of that bar

5. Short Exit

6. Position Sizing & Settings

   • Fixed size: 0.1 lots per trade

   • No stop?loss, no take?profit, no trailing stops”

Words of Warning

Remember that this is just step 1 in the process of creating a fully or partially automated trading strategy.

If you backtested with AI, you really, really have to double check the results.

Even if you didn’t, you still have to check that the code is doing what you expected.

AI can hallucinate, so you have to be extra sure that the EA is doing what you expected before you risk real money.

Never trade the EA live until you’re absolutely sure that it’s working properly. 

Final Tips

I hope that this tutorial will help you create you own tools that improve your trading results.

At the time that this is being written, backtesting with AI is not mature yet.

However, creating EAs for MT4 is very usable, so I would highly recommend learning how to do it.

If you want an awesome example that you can start using right now, check out this EA tutorial.

Even if you never build an EA, you can also build very useful custom indicators that can help you spot trading opportunities and manage parts of your trades.

Have fun!