Published on: May 13, 2026, 01:14h.
Updated on: May 13, 2026, 01:14h.
- The correlation between Bitcoin and the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF is notably high.
- Findings suggest that the ETF could signal short-term movements in Bitcoin.
- Some experts argue this connection undermines Bitcoin’s status as a safe-haven asset.
Market analysts may not have anticipated this linkage, yet evidence suggests a strong correlation between the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (NYSE: BETZ) and Bitcoin.
Utilizing the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT), the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, CoinDesk explored the relationship between this ETF and the sports betting fund, revealing a remarkable connection.
The correlation coefficient over 90 days between the two assets was recorded at 0.73, while the 365-day coefficient reached 0.91, according to TradingView data. This gives an R² of approximately 0.83, suggesting over 80% of the fluctuations in the two assets are statistically related.
A perfect correlation score is 1, thus the 0.91 correlation between BETZ and IBIT is considered significant. R², or R-squared, measures how closely an asset’s price changes correlate to a benchmark.
Is BETZ Indicative of Bitcoin’s Trends?
Launched in June 2020 as the first ETF to focus uniquely on sports wagering stocks, BETZ quickly gained popularity, particularly among risk-tolerant retail investors during the pandemic lockdowns.
Currently, this ETF, which tracks the Morningstar Sports Betting & iGaming Select Index, holds $47.9 million in assets under management. While enthusiasm for the fund has diminished, it still serves as a potential predictor of Bitcoin price movements.
According to CoinDesk, BETZ hit its all-time high back in September. Bitcoin followed suit with its record peak two months later, albeit by that time, the sports betting ETF was on a downturn. To put it differently, BETZ began its decline ahead of 2022, a year infamous for the “Crypto Winter.”
In September 2022, the sports betting ETF reached a low point, which occurred three months prior to Bitcoin’s similar downturn. While correlation doesn’t imply causation, it’s evident that BETZ has a history of anticipating Bitcoin’s rises and falls. Although the BETZ/IBIT relationship isn’t commonly acknowledged in financial circles, it supports a view among some market analysts that Bitcoin is seen as a risk-on asset, rather than a protective investment.
What’s Inside the BETZ Portfolio?
As of March 31, BETZ has seen an annualized return of 3.67% since its inception, as indicated by issuer data.
The Roundhill ETF consists of 30 stocks, featuring companies listed on both domestic and international exchanges. The largest component in the fund is Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI), accounting for 8.05% of its total weight.
Other notable companies in the ETF include DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), which together represent 10.51% of the overall portfolio.