Bitcoin on the Rise!
According to a recent report from CoinShares, institutional investors are consistently investing in cryptocurrency funds as they hold out hope for the approval of a Bitcoin ETF. Last week, the European digital asset manager recorded $346 million in deposits to cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), marking the highest over nine consecutive weeks of net inflows. The bulk of these deposits, $312 million or 90%, flowed into Bitcoin-specific funds. This influx, coupled with increasing cryptocurrency prices, has pushed the total value of assets under management in crypto funds to $45 billion.
An exchange-traded product is an investment vehicle whose shares are listed on an exchange, designed to track the performance of underlying assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, or benchmarks such as commodities, currencies, stocks, and bonds. While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fall under the ETP umbrella, a key distinction is that a spot ETF would track the real-time price of Bitcoin, a feature none of the already-approved future Bitcoin ETFs possess.
Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) concerns over volatility and manipulation risks in crypto markets, the industry remains optimistic about a potential approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. Industry observers suggest that the consistent interest from institutional investors hints at an impending approval.
Financial behemoth BlackRock, along with firms like Fidelity and VanEck, are among those that applied to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S.
Although not financial advice, it’s reasonable to anticipate that as governments show growing approval, regulations tighten, and traditional financial institutions step into the arena, the days of the crypto wild west era and volatility are likely coming to a close.