Many investors have been waiting for this: The first Bitcoin ETF has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved. Now institutional investors can also invest in crypto stocks. While some investors already expect further price increases in the crypto market, crypto purists are not so enthusiastic after all.
Find out what's behind it, whether you should buy a Bitcoin ETF or a Bitcoin stock, and what the sensible alternative would be in this post.
If you have any more questions on the topic, we look forward to an exchange in the comments!
Name | TER (annual fee) | ISIN | Fund domicile |
---|---|---|---|
21Shares Bitcoin Core ETP | 0.21% | CH1199067674 | Switzerland |
AMINA Bitcoin ETP | 0.75% | CH0558875933 | Switzerland |
CoinShares Physical Bitcoin | 0.35% | GB00BLD4ZL17 | Jersey |
All 3 Bitcoin ETFs above are physically collateralised. You can buy the Bitcoin ETFs at Swissquote or other online brokers.
After the announcement of the Approval of the first Bitcoin ETFthe Bitcoin price rose to a new all-time high. For true crypto purists, however, such a security is not an investment. Because such securities are forward contracts only (so-called Futures) that are tied to the price of bitcoin. This is arguably the exact opposite of the Bitcoin idea itself: Bypass service providers, intermediaries and centralization..
A Bitcoin ETF (or a Ether ETF or share) is, however, a security that is regulated by companies and managed for a fee. Independence and decentralisation look different and can only be achieved with a "real" investment in the cryptocurrency itself.
However, this form of Bitcoin shares or crypto ETFs is not bad per se. After all, it gives institutional investors (who knows, maybe even our pension funds in the future) the opportunity to invest in cryptos. For absolute newcomers, they still offer a simplified access to at least be able to profit from the price increases.
However, a true crypto purist would point out the following: What if Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency truly becomes the long-term currency of choice. Or simply the value shoots up to new, absolutely astronomical heights? Then according to this purist, you certainly want to be in possession of the real coins and their access. Because when regulation comes to your Bitcoin ETF or Bitcoin stock, you can only access it if you are the real owner of the assets. A Bitcoin ETF or Bitcoin stock Crypto ETF however, only represents the value of cryptocurrency – but does not make you the owner of, say, 1 piece of Bitcoin.
Worldwide, but also in Switzerland, there are more and more very simple investment platforms. Trading in a few minutes on the smartphone can be seen as very convenient. However, it also sometimes leads to a false assessment of the risk. Just because something seems playful does not mean that you can not lose your money.
At Swissquote or Yuh Buying cryptocurrencies is cheap and easy. There are also attractive crypto ETF`s like the "Krypto Muesli" at Yuh, where some crypto assets are bundled into one product. However, be careful with such offers whether you really own the assets behind them. If you only want to trade something, this may not be relevant for you.
A reputable and secure platform is the basis for your purchases of Bitcoin and Co. You can buy Bitcoin shares and Bitcoin ETF for example at Swissquote buy. You're probably better off trading "real" crypto assets on platforms like Bitcoin Suisse, Binance, Coinbase, Bitpanda or the Swiss provider Relai.
Genuine crypto assets are the basis for owning the respective assets. Furthermore, you should have access to the assets at all times - for example, via a private wallet and the keys. However, you don't always have to store the assets on your private cold wallet - providers like Bitcoin Suisse offer solutions for this.
Wild price rises and colorful media reports are driving more and more people into the crypto markets. Of course, crypto ETFs are also contributing to this. But always remember that these are very volatile and risky investments. Regulation, a technical problem or a hacking attack on the blockchain could cause some cryptocurrencies to falter. Therefore, always keep your investment within your Yield Risk Profile.
There are pros and cons to Bitcoin ETF`s and crypto stocks in general. While they open up the market for newcomers and institutional investors like banks, they also have serious drawbacks and actually disregard the core idea of decentralization.
As always, the world is not simply black and white, so we'd be interested in your thoughts on the subject. Feel free to leave us a comment!
2 responses
Is the Swiss broker Youhodler not suitable enough to trade real Bitcoins? BITCOIN ETFs are rather the big whales
I don't know the YouHodler app yet - but there are very negative reports and statements on the Internet about fees of up to 50% when withdrawing, so be careful!
Better rely on safe Swiss supplier or at least to the well-known, large platforms.