Bitcoin ETF

What is a bitcoin ETF? They are a relatively easy-to-purchase investment vehicle that owns bitcoin (BTC), the original cryptocurrency. Just like stocks, exchange-traded funds are listed on exchanges, can be traded throughout the day and are available for purchase through normal brokerage accounts. A bitcoin ETF was first proposed in the U.S. around 2013 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, but were never approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Several applications for them are pending with the SEC as of January 2024, from companies including BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity, Galaxy/Invesco and Franklin Templeton. If approved, crypto ETFs could dramatically broaden the base of people who can invest in digital assets. There have been bitcoin futures ETFs available in the U.S. for several years, but the latest round of proposed products, technically known as spot bitcoin ETFs, are a more efficient and desirable product.

Markets

SEC Orders First Trust-SkyBridge to Declare Its Bitcoin ETF Application Abandoned

First Trust was one of the first to file for a BTC ETF, and was rejected by the SEC in January 2022.

By Sam ReynoldsMar 13, 2024

Anthony Scaramucci, Founder, Managing Partner, SkyBridge Capital (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Finance

VanEck Spot Bitcoin ETF Sees Record $119M Inflow After Fee Cut to 0%

VanEck waived the management fee for its spot bitcoin ETF for a year or until it reaches $1.5 billion in assets under management.

By Krisztian SandorMar 12, 2024

Scrabble tiles spelling out "ETF GROWTH"

Finance

Grayscale Plans Low-Fee GBTC Spinoff: the Bitcoin Mini Trust

Bitcoin ETF manager Grayscale is seeking permission from the SEC to spin out a percentage of GBTC shares to seed the new Bitcoin Mini Trust product, according to a filing on Tuesday.

By Ian AllisonMar 12, 2024

Finance

VanEck Temporarily Cuts Bitcoin ETF Fee to Zero After Lagging in Assets

HODL, VanEck’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), has so far attracted a little over $305 million in assets, which is far below most of its competitors.

By Helene BraunMar 11, 2024

Scrabble letters spelling ETF arranged a rack

Opinion

We Have to Make It Easier For People to Own Crypto Directly (Not Just With ETFs)

The success of bitcoin ETFs reminds us to continue improving accessibility and lower entry barriers to bitcoin and Web3, says Binance’s CTO Rohit Wad.

By Rohit WadMar 11, 2024

Analysts differ on bitcoin's ultimate reaction to a spot ETF (Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Indian Crypto Investment Platform Mudrex to Offer U.S. Bitcoin ETFs to Indian Investors

Mudrex is a Y-Combinator-backed, California-headquartered entity with a subsidiary registered with the Intelligence Unit of India.

By Amitoj SinghMar 11, 2024

Markets

BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Nears 200K BTC, Passing Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy

The asset manager's spot fund added just shy of 5,000 bitcoins Friday, bringing total holdings to 195,985 tokens.

By Helene BraunMar 10, 2024

BlackRock's IBIT has accumulated more bitcoin than MicroStrategy. (CoinDesk)

Markets

Bitcoin Record High Would’ve Happened Without ETFs, Just Later, Say Experts

The world's largest crypto has risen about 60% in just the two months since the opening of the spot bitcoin ETFs.

By Helene BraunMar 6, 2024

Markets

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Added a Record 12.6K BTC in Tuesday's Carnage

IBIT’s total inflows surpassed the $9 billion mark as prices plunged following bitcoin taking out a record high above $69.000.

By Shaurya MalwaMar 6, 2024

Policy

SEC Pushes Back Decision on BlackRock, Fidelity's Ether ETF Applications

The SEC wants to know if the applications for ETFs that hold Ethereum's ether (ETH) are supported by the same arguments that led to the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs.

By Nikhilesh DeMar 6, 2024