2018 Might Be the Year of the Bitcoin ETF
A bitcoin ETF (exchange traded fund) has been the dream of many people involved in the space for some time now. Basically you would be able to purchase bitcoin straight from a brokerage account, put it in a retirement account and not have to worry about the upkeep and maintenance involved with holding your own coins. For many of the technologically impaired people, the ETF would be able to offer them an easy way to get involved. I want to talk about why I think the ETF might actually happen in 2018 and some of the drawbacks and positives of one launching.
The main reason I believe that an ETF is going to happen, is primarily because the infrastructure for an ETF is now available and big organizations are looking to launch one. With the CBOE and CME futures launching earlier this month, we now have a legitimate spot price on a legitimate exchange needed for an ETF to operate. This was the primary area of concern for the SEC when they denied the Winklevoss ETF. Their response was to create their exchange daily auction, but it wasnt enough.
About a month ago there were also a few pending bitcoin ETFs waiting for a response that were told to withdraw because they would likely be denied. I believe this was a sign that the government wanted to see what happened with the futures market first. In just the last week, the CBOE and the NYSE, both reputable organizations, petitioned the SEC to authorize over 6 bitcoin ETFs. These arent your fly by night companies, these are big named, reputable people looking to launch an ETF and history shows the SEC is much more willing to let them run the show.
However there are big potential problems with a bitcoin ETF that must be addressed before launching one. The first is what happens in the result of a hack? Its not as simple as losing money in the traditional banking system, or even losing stolen gold. Purchasing the large amounts needed on the market would be extremely hard. If an underlying is used, insurance on the coins would be most likely used, so the underlying of what you actually own might go down, like in the case of GBTC. If no insurance is used, it could turn into a nightmare.
The benefits of the ETF are pretty obvious because it basically makes it so regular people can invest and use it as a store of value. I also say people should hold their own keys and never trust exchanges, but at the same time, I know there are many people who have purchased coins in this recent run up, that are going to lose them and their money. Sometimes taking the risk of letting someone more experienced hold the coins might not be a terrible idea. I would personally say you shouldnt invest if you dont understand the system and cant keep the coins safe, but people are going to do it anyway.
I am interested to see if 2018 is actually going to be the year of the ETF and if it is, what effect is has on the market. I would imagine many more people would buy in, but I would also imagine there would be a large premium on the price because of the ease of purchase. Only time will tell, ultimately the decision is up to the SEC and the government.
-Calaber24p
If it does end up happening the price increase will be huge thanks to the legitimacy earned.
And this could only means good news for crypto in general. More popularity and more use.
I get this will only cover bitcoin at the beginning, but more coins could be added as time pass.
I hope this end up happening.
Yeah the legitimacy earned in the last year has been crazy, I hope it continues. Many people, especially early buyers are split because many dont want government involvement, but having more options is in my opinion the best solution.
Great explanation. It'll be easier to explain the legitimacy of everything once these structural accesses are put in place.
Definitely. I think many look to big organizations to tell them if something is a scam or not, so maybe we wont get so many people writing crypto off if an ETF is put in place.
ETFs would certainly open the floodgates to the general public.
After the last run up and correction, there are probably many who took that hit on the chin and have a bad taste in their mouths. Lol
The legitimacy an ETF offers (to the general public anyways) will be a welcome dynamic to the market, but ultimately owning and managing your own Cryptocurrency is far more rewarding.
Honestly I'd trust CryptoTwitter with my keys and financial wealth over any big wig investment fund!
Bitcoin ETF? I’ve heard of it. I’m afraid that the same happens what happened to Gold and Silver. Once they listed on stock market they were able to manipulate it. Otherwise both would be much higher that it is now.
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Maybe, I think the manipulators hold far less coins and are unable to manipulate as much as they could with say gold and silver. Silver is really easy to manipulate, the market cap is very small. Gold is a bit harder, but still easy with naked shorting.
Thank you for your important information. I did not know beforehand that Bitcoin can be purchased directly from the brokerage account
They sort of can, but not really yet. If an ETF came they could be.
what do you think about the recent declining bitcoin price.
and how your prediction of bitcoin in 2018, whether more expensive or more turu.
What is your opinion?
I think its just a correction to be honest. In my opinion the market is still small long term. That being said I cant time things so for all I know , we go down to 4000 , but I think ultimately in time we will be higher.
I actually think that an BTC ETF is coming though I am not sure if that will be in 2018. The fact that there are BTC futures right now means that there is a higher chance of a BTC ETF being approved. However, I think the SEC would like to see more data on how the BTC futures perform before they would approve a BTC ETF.
It might not be in 2018, but it is coming eventually I think. They might want more data, but a year is still a good period of time for showing a successful futures launch.
Yes, I think that's probably true. It's probably definitely coming but I'm unsure when exactly.
thnks for the info , bitcoin has fallen to its calamity due to powerdown to its main owner and i think he was surpessed for this deliberate crush because bitcoin is only a tryout for a greater currencies , its asociological experiment :)
thank you. Nice post
thank you. Nice post :)