First Bitcoin futures ETF to hit the NYSE today

Today ProShares will launch its first Bitcoin futures ETF on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

ProShares lists a Bitcoin futures ETF on the NYSE

This was announced by ProShares itself, informing the ETF will trade under ticker BITO.

The NYSE’s official website has also already published a quote sheet for BITO (PROSHARES BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF). 

BITO will offer investors the opportunity to take a position on the price of Bitcoin, although the fund will not have BTC as underlying, but BTC futures already traded for some time on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). 

ProShares has been in the ETF market since 2006 and offers a wide range of exchange-traded funds in which to invest. In July of this year, one of its affiliates, ProFunds, also launched the first mutual fund linked to Bitcoin in the United States. 

A historical day for Bitcoin

Today’s launch is a real milestone for the crypto market, and for Bitcoin in particular. 

Before now, it was not possible to easily take a position on the price of Bitcoin on the New York Stock Exchange, despite the fact that Bakkt futures already existed. Futures are mainly dedicated to professional investors, while ETFs are also widely used by small retail investors. 

The fact that the millions of Americans who invest in ETFs can now also use this tool to invest in the price of Bitcoin is indeed a turning point for the crypto market, although this will not necessarily have an impact on prices. 

In December 2017 when Bitcoin futures were launched on the market the price collapsed, but there was a giant speculative bubble going on that had more than tripled the price in just two months. Right now the situation seems to be different. 

Why BTC investors should prefer ETFs

For the average retail investor, the purchase and especially the direct custody of BTC is rather inconvenient and risky. For this reason, many may be interested in using a product with which they are more familiar, namely the ETF, even at the cost of having to bear higher costs. The fact that the ETF itself is not based on BTCF tokens, but on futures contracts, completely eliminates the problem of physical storage of Bitcoin. 

The CEO of ProShares, Michael L. Sapir, said: 

“We believe a multitude of investors have been eagerly awaiting the launch of a bitcoin-linked ETF after years of efforts to launch one. BITO will open up exposure to bitcoin to a large segment of investors who have a brokerage account and are comfortable buying stocks and ETFs, but do not desire to go through the hassle and learning curve of establishing another account with a cryptocurrency provider and creating a bitcoin wallet or are concerned that these providers may be unregulated and subject to security risks.

BITO will continue the legacy of ETFs that provide investors convenient, liquid access to an asset class. 1993 is remembered for the first equity ETF, 2002 for the first bond ETF, and 2004 for the first gold ETF. 2021 will be remembered for the first cryptocurrency-linked ETF”.