It may be one of the universal laws of finance that whenever an asset multiplies in value over a short period of time, demand from investors to buy that asset in an accessibly packaged form similarly multiplies. This year, that law played out in Bitcoin prices, and not a week in the latter half of 2017 passed where I was not asked or told about one Bitcoin fund or another. Just in the past 48 hours, Bitcoin prices surged past US$10,000 and then $11,000 per coin before falling back below $9,250, all before the end of a year when the digital currency started below $1,000 per Bitcoin. (As background to anyone reading this who may still want to better understand Bitcoin, my 2013 post on 7 ways anyone can understand Bitcoin in 7 minutes should still be useful).
In my latest article on Bitcoin futures vs Bitcoin ETFs or funds, I outline 7 reasons futures are a far better way to bridge cryptocurrencies with mainstream financial instruments until the financial world is ready with what I call “Blockchain traded funds” or “BTFs”.
Happy reading, and I look forward to your comments,
Tariq