Bitcoin ETF pundits were happy to see a fund come to fruition, but it’s debut Thursday gave them something more to cheer about. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF debuted on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Thursday’s trading session with heavy volume, according to a Bloomberg article published in Yahoo! Finance.
“North America’s first Bitcoin ETF got off to a stellar start in its debut, with investors exchanging $165 million worth of shares,” the article said. “After a relentless surge in the world’s largest digital currency, the first Bitcoin product that’s officially labeled an exchange-traded fund debuted Thursday in Toronto.”
The rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is attracting investor interest from institutional money like hedge funds, as well as Tesla’s Elon Musk. The debut comes as Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, broke the $50,000 price market recently.
“While the digital asset has already surged five fold in the past year — spurring concern about a speculative froth in global markets –it’s grabbing more mainstream attention, especially after Tesla Inc.’s recent $1.5 billion purchase,” the article added.
The funds traded high relative to a typical first day for an ETF in Canada.
“There’s sizable untapped interest for a Bitcoin investment that has the benefits of an ETF,” said Todd Rosenbluth, CFRA Research’s director of ETF research. “While most ETFs come to market globally with an educational hurdle to overcome, many investors are familiar with what is inside BTCC.”
Many hope that Canada’s adoption will lead the United States to follow suit. Yet some leaders in the financial community are still leery.
“I think it’s important to make sure that it is not used as a vehicle for elicit [sic]transactions and that there’s investor protection,” said former Fed Chair Janet Yellen. “And so regulating institutions that deal in Bitcoin, making sure that they adhere to their regulatory responsibilities, I think is certainly important.”
Building Off of the Bitcoin ETF Fanfare
Bitcoin brings a several U.S. opportunities to the forefront. Blockchain and eSports both stand to benefit from the cryptocurrency.
Opportunities for ETF investors in blockchain include the Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (NASDAQ: BLCN). BLCN seeks long-term growth by tracking the investment returns of the Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index, which is designed to measure the returns of companies that are committing material resources to development, researching, supporting, innovating, or utilizing blockchain technology for their proprietary use or for use by other blockchain-focused companies.
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