Why a Bitcoin ETF is a big deal
What most influencoors are NOT talking about, and why it will spark the biggest bull run to date.
The holy grail of the crypto community for the past 10 years has been the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, dating all the way back to 2013 when the Winklevoss twins submitted the very first such application.
The crypto world is rife with poor user interfaces, complex on and off ramps, uncertain regulations and a host of other obstacles that stand in the way of mass adoption. A Bitcoin ETF is the keystone that will open the flood gates and start the last step of the parabolic mass adoption phase of this nascent technology.
Current BTC ETF Landscape:
For clarity and background, there are already multiple futures-based Bitcoin ETFs in the US, as well as various spot Bitcoin ETF’s in a handful of countries around the world including Canada, Brazil and most recently a European BTC ETF.
Most of them are still relatively small, the Canadian version managing approx. $1B in BTC and $250M in ETH. The US has the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)which manages approx $10B in BTC and $5B in ETH. The big difference is that the GBTC is a closed-end fund that does not allow redemption. This has resulted in a big discount to net asset value (NAV), expensive management fees, and a regulatory firewall preventing large institutions from investing as their by-laws prohibit it.
This regulatory strangulation has created a unnecessarily complex, inefficient and circuitous route for institutions and corporations to invest in Bitcoin. As a result, if they are to invest in non-derivative Bitcoin they are forced to buy proxies like Coinbase ($COIN), MicroStrategy ($MSTR) and various publicly traded Bitcoin miners. Only the more stubborn and die-hard companies will bother to navigate those obstacles, and as a result only a fraction of the capital looking for Bitcoin exposure actually invests.
A US spot Bitcoin ETF changes all of this, and opens the flood gates.
Why is a Spot Bitcoin ETF such an explosive catalyst?
- It locks up “physical” bitcoin, reducing the available liquid Bitcoin for exchanges. Although it can be redeemed, the vast majority of those wanting to cash out will just sell their ETF shares rather than redeem for actual BTC, making the ETF a one-way entry door for BTC.
- Can be held on corporate balance sheets without the need for by-law amendments or absurd accounting measures. This will enable an influx of tens of billions of dollars in short order.
- Can be held in retirement accounts, RESPs, TFSA’s and all kinds of registered/restricted accounts. This opens the doors to huge retail funds currently sulking on the sidelines.
- Can be held by Pension Funds and passive investment vehicles.
- Will attract layman retail that is not willing to deal with self custody, new exchanges, and cumbersome on/off ramps. They will be able to buy Bitcoin in their existing brokerage at the click of a button.
- Will ignite a HUGE marketing war between competing providers like BlackRock, Fidelity, etc … all competing for customers and advertising the benefits of Bitcoin and crypto, and pulling hordes of otherwise hesitant retail investors.
- Asset managers and financial advisors will be forced to look into Bitcoin, and offer it to their existing clients. The current climate for BTC is still very fringe, and managers can still get away with ignoring it, and even avoid it for risk of pushback. Once Blackrock, Fidelity and others begin offering BTC and marketing it, those managers can no longer ignore Crypto.
8. Will give sorely needed mainstream legitimacy to Bitcoin and crypto as an asset class, allowing it to join the ranks of the TradeFi ecosystem.
9. Will enable credit and yield on Bitcoin holdings, making them much more palatable to Pension Funds and yield-focused hedge funds. ETF holders will be able to write covered calls, use it as collateral, lend it out to borrowers or short sellers, and much more.
10. BTC Miners can put their BTC to use without the need to sell it or encumber it with higher risk third party custodians.
11. The approval of a BTC ETF will spark a large price pump, which will pull in significant capital into the ETF itself. When the Canadian BTCC.B launched, it attracted over $1B in it’s first couple days in operation.
Conclusion:
Make no mistake. A Bitcoin ETF is coming, the only question is when. Blackrock have had 99% of their ETF applications approved, and this one will not be any different. The SEC need to tread carefully, as they have been dealt a handful of big losses recently in their unhinged fight against crypto. When the approval finally comes, and the FED starts its rate hike pivot, and the halving supply shocks hits, this bull run will turn into a moonshot like we have not seen since the early days of Bitcoin, and the ETF will be the catalyst.
Position yourselves accordingly.
Good luck out there, and see you on the next one!
Sovereign Crypto
I release regular altcoin and crypto updates, subscribe for more info and to keep up to date!
Referral Bonuses/Codes:
- Cross Chain Swaps: RocketX Exchange: https://app.rocketx.exchange/?ref=LG5RWYCO
- Best Exchange (non-us): Swissborg: https://join.swissborg.com/en/r/alexanLHJA
- Perpetuals DEX: Level Finance https://levelling.io/p77a
Disclosures:
- I own or am accumulating the above mentioned tokens.
- Not financial advice.
Social Media:
- Twitter https://twitter.com/fourthesauri
