US regulators are still on the fence about cryptocurrencies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun to approve bitcoin-themed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but with important caveats. Last week the SEC gave the nod to the Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF, says Hassan Maishera on FXEmpire. The ETF will offer investors exposure to some of the leading crypto firms on the market, such as Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy. But the SEC has still yet to approve any cryptocurrency ETF “that seeks to directly track the performance of bitcoin”.
Investors use ETFs to track the performance of assets such as gold or equities, says Nathan Reiff on Investopedia. For all the hype, bitcoin remains difficult to invest in, requiring investors to turn to specialised exchanges and deal with “complex storage and security procedures”. A bitcoin ETF would allow a much larger pool of investors to buy bitcoin in the same way and on the same platforms where they trade stocks.
The approval of “bitcoin lite” ETFs such as Volt is a “sop” to investors, says Steve Johnson in the Financial Times. US regulators are still refusing to approve any ETFs “that invest in the cryptocurrency itself”, even though similar vehicles have already been launched in Canada and parts of Europe. SEC chair, Gary Gensler, has called cryptocurrencies a “wild west” and an “asset class…rife with fraud, scams and abuse”.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Profits at the final frontier – how to invest in spaceGetting into space has never been cheaper thanks to private firms and reusable technology. That has sparked something of a gold rush in related industries, says Matthew Partridge
-
Rachel Reeves is rediscovering the Laffer curveOpinion If you keep raising taxes, at some point, you start to bring in less revenue. Rachel Reeves has shown the way, says Matthew Lynn
-
Investing in space – finding profits at the final frontier
Getting into space has never been cheaper thanks to private firms and reusable technology. That has sparked something of a gold rush in related industries, says Matthew Partridge
-
Star fund managers – an investing style that’s out of fashionStar fund managers such as Terry Smith and Nick Train are at the mercy of wider market trends, says Cris Sholto Heaton
-
Affordable Art Fair: The art fair for beginnersChris Carter talks to the Affordable Art Fair’s Hugo Barclay about how to start collecting art, the dos and don’ts, and more
-
Three promising emerging-market stocks to diversify your portfolioOpinion Omar Negyal, portfolio manager, JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, highlights three emerging-market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Coface offers excess profit in an unloved sectorCoface is a world leader in trade-credit insurance with key competitive advantages in a niche market
-
Exciting opportunities in biotechBiotech firms should profit from the ‘patent cliff’, which will force big pharmaceutical companies to innovate or make acquisitions
-
How to invest in the new breed of payment providersUpstart payment providers are taking the world by storm. It’s time for investors to buy in, says Rupert Hargreaves
-
What turns a stock market crash into a financial crisis?Opinion Professor Linda Yueh's popular book on major stock market crashes misses key lessons, says Max King
