Crypto currency ETFs: The next trend?

In October, the US Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. This is the first US bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund, and for many this was seen as a turning point for cryptocurrencies when it began trading at the end of October.

But the SEC drew a line in the sand just a few days later, refusing to authorise a leveraged ETF fund tracking a basket of synthetic crypto assets. This suggested the regulator wants to limit new bitcoin-related products to those that provide unleveraged exposure to bitcoin futures contracts, reducing gearing risk on what many see as an already risky emerging asset class - and which some see as pure speculation.

Yet with currency trading site Forex Suggest predicting that, by 2024, cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Etherium and Dai are on track to break into the top 10 best performing assets in terms of market capitalisation, crypto is not something that can be dismissed easily. And this is where exchange-traded funds might come into play: offering a regulated product to a regulated advice market, tracking the rises and falls of this emergent asset class.

Joining senior editor Simoney Kyriakou on the latest FTAdviser InFocus podcast to discuss these issues are Rufus Round, chief executive of GlobalBlock, and Jason Guthrie Head of Digital Assets for Wisdom Tree.

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