# All about Bitcoin ETFs By [cryptodigest](https://paragraph.com/@cryptodigest) · 2022-12-11 --- Bitcoin has dominated the cryptocurrency market. It just recently made its debut on the stock market. The Bitcoin ETF enabled this to happen. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) for bitcoins keeps tabs on the currency’s value. Instead of using cryptocurrency trading platforms, ETFs can be purchased, sold, and exchanged on conventional stock market exchanges. The intent behind these ETFs is to give retail investors and investors not comfortable investing in cryptocurrencies access to them without actually owning them. It is a reliable way for modern investors and traders to find out the price of bitcoin through a platform that is well-known and trusted. **What is a Bitcoin ETF?** -------------------------- Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are pools of assets related to bitcoin that can be traded on traditional exchanges as ETFs. The value of bitcoin is tracked via an exchange-traded fund. ETFs can be purchased, exchanged, and sold on standard stock exchanges as opposed to cryptocurrency trading platforms. They can be used to get price exposure to multiple sectors and assets, such as currencies and commodities, or to concentrate on companies that are diverse or environmentally responsible. Bitcoin futures ETFs are supported by bitcoin derivatives, whereas bitcoin spot ETFs are supported by actual bitcoin (BTC). **Advantages of ETFs:** ----------------------- * Convenience: Using an ETF eliminates the need to learn how to use a bitcoin wallet or to register for an account on a cryptocurrency exchange. * Users do not own Bitcoin directly. Instead, they get price exposure without actually owning the asset by using well-known investment vehicles and tax rules. * Portfolio diversification: An ETF may hold a variety of assets in its portfolio, including actual bitcoins, stocks tied to the bitcoin industry, and other assets. Investors have the option to diversify their traditional market portfolios, even if they only have BTC. **Disadvantages of ETFs:** -------------------------- * Fees: Management costs are usually hidden in ETFs, which means that instead of going toward investments, a portion of the cash in the pool would be used to pay the firm or individuals administering the fund. Examine the “expense ratio” indicated on an ETF before making an investment. It should be as low as you can get it, ideally under 1%. * Holders of the Bitcoin ETF do not actually own the asset; rather, they acquire price exposure; as a result, they cannot exchange their holdings for many other cryptocurrencies. * Trading hours are limited. While cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold at any time, major stock markets like the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) are only open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET (Eastern Time) on weekdays. This limits when cryptocurrencies can move a lot. **The goal of Bitcoin ETFs:** 1. **Security:** Although, technically speaking, you don’t have any bitcoin in your wallet, you do have security keys that you must protect. If the exchange you use to purchase your cryptocurrency allows you to select to have your keys stored there, you can do so. However, keys can be stolen from wallets and exchanges, which means your cryptocurrency could be taken. There are various ways to store your keys offline, but none of them is completely safe or guaranteed. With an ETF, you own shares of the fund, which assumes the risks of key storage on your behalf. This eliminates the need for you to own any cryptocurrencies, store them safely, or transfer them back and forth between different types of storage. 2. **High prices:** The price is one of the biggest barriers for typical investors. A short time after the ProShares Bitcoin ETF was launched on the NYSE, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached a record high of around $69,000 per BTC. Its price began to fall over the next few months. Therefore, retail investors might not have the resources to buy 1 BTC, even at low costs. You can access BTC through an ETF while staying within your financial constraints, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. 3. **ETFs are Better Understood:** The fact that ETFs are far more widely accepted in the investment community than cryptocurrencies is perhaps the most significant. Digital money and tokens are becoming more common while also getting more complicated. So, if investing in digital currencies is your only goal, an ETF lets you avoid learning about blockchain, mining, decentralized exchanges, distributed ledgers, key storage, and cryptocurrency so you can focus on trading securities you already know. **What’s better: Owning Bitcoin or a Bitcoin ETF?** --------------------------------------------------- A lot of people are hoping that the United States will show real interest in an ETF that tracks bitcoin. Over a dozen applications and proposals have been denied in recent years, making it challenging to win permission from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) in the US. For a while, it seemed as though nothing would get better, but things seem to be changing in 2022. The Teucrium Bitcoin Futures ETF and the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF were the first exchange-traded funds for bitcoin futures. They were approved by the SEC in October 2021 and April 2022, respectively. As a result of the above event, some cryptocurrency venture capitalists have more hope, but as of this writing, it seems unlikely that a spot bitcoin ETF will be approved. --- *Originally published on [cryptodigest](https://paragraph.com/@cryptodigest/all-about-bitcoin-etfs)*