TL;DR
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Here’re three common arguments against a spot Bitcoin ETF:
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1. It puts a whole bunch of Bitcoin in the care of a very small amount of people, which gives them control over it.
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2. Some Bitcoin maxis fear that the government will try and ban individual ownership of BTC, and force investors to buy it only via an ETF.
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3. Some folks are pointing to the idea that an ETF approval has already been priced into Bitcoin.
Full Story
There’s a lot of excitement surrounding a potential spot Bitcoin ETF (aka a way to buy Bitcoin on the stock market)…
But what’re the potential downside risks?
We found a few common talking points from dissenting voices, and collected them here for you, so you can form a balanced opinion (if the feeling takes you).
Here’re three common arguments against a spot Bitcoin ETF:
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It puts a whole bunch of Bitcoin in the care of a very small amount of people, which gives them control over it.
Sure, a wide range of people will buy into these Bitcoin ETFs – but they’ll own the Bitcoin by proxy, meaning it will be the fund that actually takes custody of the Bitcoin.
Our two cents: safe third party custody has to become an option if Bitcoin is going to proliferate. Not everyone is going to feel comfortable holding millions/billions of dollars on a hardware wallet.
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Some Bitcoin maxis fear that the government will try and ban individual ownership of BTC, and force investors to buy it only via an ETF.
Our two cents: Feels like a stretch, but crazier things have happened.
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Some folks are pointing to the idea that an ETF approval has already been priced into Bitcoin.
Meaning that if/when an ETF gets approved and goes live, it won’t move the price all that much – meaning we’re all getting excited over nothing.
Our two cents: in the short term, this is probably true. In the long term (12 months +), not so much.
All things considered, we’re still excited at the potential of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
