Exchange-traded funds tied to gold and Bitcoin have moved back into the top 10 most-traded ETFs by daily volume, according to new data from Bloomberg Intelligence. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) have re-entered the upper ranks, displacing some of the semiconductor and AI-focused funds that dominated trading during the summer.
Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the shift on social media platform X, noting that while AI-linked semiconductor funds still see significant activity, their presence is no longer as overwhelming. The change suggests investors may be rotating some capital toward traditional and digital stores of value amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.
Market observers describe the move as part of a potential “debasement trade”—a strategy in which investors buy assets with limited supply, such as gold and Bitcoin, when they worry about currency debasement, inflation, or excessive monetary expansion. Gold is a long-standing hedge, while Bitcoin is often called digital gold, though it remains more volatile.
Balchunas and other analysts caution that daily trading volume does not directly equal net inflows. High volume reflects investor attention and short-term positioning, but it does not reveal whether investors are buying or selling. Still, the return of GLD and IBIT to the top 10 suggests that market interest is broadening beyond the concentrated AI trade, with multiple themes now competing for capital.
