A Bitcoin ETF Will Still Need to Jump Through Hurdles

“We expect the SEC to move slowly and cautiously, however, if the futures contracts are approved we can finally see a clear path towards an ETF,” Bak added.

Related: A Bitcoin Boost for ARK ETF 

Some industry experts, though, don’t think a Bitcoin ETF will come anytime soon. For instance, Mark Wiedman, global head of iShares and index investments for BlackRock, said, “I don’t quite get the point of a Bitcoin ETF in any case, because we’re talking about…trading products that are difficult to access.”

Ryan Radloff, principal at CoinShares, also agreed with Wiedman’s sentiment, arguing that investors could just easily access cryptocurrencies through specific markets instead of looking toward a round-about-way in an ETF wrapper.

“Longterm, Mr. Wiedman could be right – it may be very easy for retail and institutional investors to buy and hold bitcoin and cryptocurrencies,” Radloff said. “But, short term, the infrastructure is limited, especially for institutional and professional investors.”

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