Is A Bitcoin Spot ETF Finally Coming To The Market?
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved an application for the Teucrium Bitcoin Futures ETF. Now, the CEO of Grayscale Investments, Michael Sonnenshein, believes a Bitcoin spot ETF could be coming next.
Sonnenshein said of a potential spot ETF, “It really is, in our opinion, a matter of when and not if.”
The Grayscale CEO believes that, “From the SEC standpoint, there were several protections that 40 Act products have that 33 products don’t have, but never ever did those protections address the SEC’s concern over the underlying bitcoin market and the potential for fraud or manipulation…
“So the fact that they’ve now evolved their thinking and approved a 33 Act product with Teucrium, really invalidates that argument and talks to the linkage between the bitcoin futures and the underlying bitcoin spot markets that give the futures contracts their value.”
A spot Bitcoin ETF would trade in the markets based upon the spot price of the underlying asset, Bitcoin. Generally speaking, while there are currently several Bitcoin futures ETFs, futures markets are far smaller than spot markets, and retail investors largely avoid risky futures.
The introduction of a Bitcoin spot ETF may offer traditional equities investors the ability to trade in Bitcoin without directly investing in the crypto itself. And since ETFs are held and traded in brokerage accounts, new investors in the space need not open a crypto wallet or crypto exchange account.
Because of this, we could potentially see a massive influx of new “traditional investor” volume into the space, which could affect the upside value of BTC.
Matt Hougan of Bitwise Asset Management said, “Bitcoin is now an institutional market. It’s a market with institutional service providers, institutional investors, a large and robust regulated futures market…
“We’ve gotten the bitcoin futures ETF under the 40 Act. We’ve gotten the bitcoin futures ETF on under the 33 Act. The next step is what people actually want, which is a spot bitcoin ETF that gives pure exposure to bitcoin.”
As investing in Bitcoin, both directly with BTC and through the futures market becomes more commonplace, and with a potential Bitcoin spot ETF now on the horizon, the price of Bitcoin may begin climbing towards some of the lofty price targets mentioned by blockchain experts and large financial institutions.
Mathew Hyland, a technical analyst and blockchain data analyst believes Bitcoin could reach $100,000 at some point this year. Should a spot ETF be approved by the SEC, his prediction could gain more widespread acceptance.
Read more about the potential Bitcoin spot ETF, HERE