Bitcoin Spot ETFAn exchange-traded fund that invests in Bitcoin and allows its shareholders to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market without having to purchase cryptocurrency or create a wallet themselves. – just the first step towards the formation of a whole niche of cryptocurrency funds, says Lennix Lai, commercial director of the OKX cryptocurrency exchange. According to him, in the coming years more complex products may appear on the market, such as spot ETFs for various cryptocurrencies and an ETF that includes not only investments in the cryptocurrency itself, but also income from its participation.
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“Spot cryptocurrency ETFs whose portfolios consist of proof-of-stake (PoS) coins and include staking rewards. The ability of a fund to make money through staking would provide its unitholders with an additional stream of income beyond being tied to the price of the underlying asset,” Lai believes.
Additionally, more complex DeFi funds may appear on exchanges that track DeFi projects based on the Ethereum network. Such funds would give investors access to the world of DeFi applications and allow them to gain exposure to this growing niche, says OKX’s chief commercial officer.
Recall that on January 10, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the launch of 11 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest directly in Bitcoin. Previously, cryptocurrency-related products were on the exchanges: for example, shares of mining companies or Bitcoin futures, which appeared on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in December 2017. But only BTC spot ETFs offer investment direct in Bitcoin. These funds must hold a certain amount of bitcoins as collateral for their obligations to investors. Therefore, BTC spot ETFs opened access to Bitcoin investments to the general public, including institutional investors.
On May 23, the SEC took another step toward forming new exchange-traded products: the commission approved eight applications to list spot ETFs, this time pegged to the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum. In mid-June 2024, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced that final approval of ETH spot ETFs should be expected by the end of this summer.
Author:
Nikita Statsenko
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
