The first index fund (ETF) linked to bitcoin has only just been launched on the New York Stock Exchange, when two other similar funds are already preparing to open. This novelty will not fundamentally disrupt the possibilities of investing in crypto, but it helps to make them even easier.
It didn’t take long. As soon as the first ETF linked to bitcoin was launched on Tuesday, October 19, on the New York Stock Exchange, the second index fund linked to this cryptocurrency has just been announced. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy fund will launch on the Nasdaq on Friday October 22 as BTF, Bloomberg reveals on October 21.
As we explained to you yesterday, these index funds are financial products backed by a stock market index and their units can be bought or sold constantly – which makes their use quite flexible. The first bitcoin-linked ETF that launched on Tuesday is the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF known as BITO. It allows you to bet on what are called “futures contracts” linked to bitcoin, an asset class that bets on the future development of bitcoin – depending on whether the price of bitcoin is forecast to rise or fall at At a certain time, we will sell or buy these futures contracts.
TWO MORE BITCOIN-RELATED ETFs TO LAUNCH SOON
It was foreseeable that other cryptocurrency-related ETFs would be approved by the SEC after that first green light, as ProShares is far from the only one to have applied to open such a fund. Files were filed in this direction in 2013. ProShares is on the other hand the very first to have obtained this sesame from the SEC, which was reassured by the fact that this ETF generated a slightly less direct exposure to the volatility of bitcoin – although these futures contracts remain highly speculative products. Now that the door has been opened, the ProShares ETF BITO will soon find itself with neighbors.
As noted on Twitter by the journalist specializing in cryptocurrencies from Capital, Grégory Raymond, a third ETF linked to bitcoin and carried by VanEck should arrive next week.
The future competitors of ProShares are undoubtedly eager to make their entry into the dance, given the spectacular start that the latter has made. He traded over $ 440 million in the first hour, and over $ 1 billion by the end of his first day. This is the second best start ever for a fund of this type.
As we explained to you in detail yesterday, this index fund is not going to fundamentally change the possibilities for investing in cryptocurrencies, as this area has already simplified considerably in recent years. It does, however, put a new option on the table and is a symbolic, long overdue novelty. Proof that this launch interested investors, the price of bitcoin hit a record high on October 20, crossing the $ 66,000 mark.