Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have experienced another year of wide oscillations, but major investors and financial players continue to keep their fingers on the pulse of the developing, digital currency market.
In the upcoming webcast, Bitcoin In 2020: What Financial Advisors Need To Know, Matt Hougan, Global Head of Research, Bitwise Asset Management, will examine the expansion of the cryptocurrency universe, reveal data from their recent survey of financial advisor attitudes towards digital currencies and consider the outlook for crypto and blockchain technology in 2020.
Bitwise Asset Management is the creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund and offers two low-cost, liquid beta funds, holding bitcoin and ethereum exclusively.
The Bitwise Bitcoin Fund and the Bitwise Ethereum Fund are the second and third strategies in the Bitwise fund family, joining the broad-market Bitwise 10 Private Index Fund. The funds is driven by inbound client interest and investor dissatisfaction with existing options, many of which carry premiums, charge exit fees, have lockups, and/or charge expenses to the fund outside the stated management fee.
The Bitwise Bitcoin Fund holds bitcoin and captures the total returns available to investors in the world’s largest cryptoasset, including any meaningful hard forks and air drops. The Bitwise Ethereum Fund does the same for ether. Funds safeguard holdings in 100% cold storage with an institutional third-party custodian, and prepare simple K-1 tax documents for investors each year.
The increasing number of bitcoin-related investment options comes as cryptocurrency investors await the approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With cryptoassets under the scrutiny of a regulatory organization like the SEC, it would help digital currencies obtain wider acceptance by the general investing audience.
In the past few years, a dozen regulated, insured custodians have emerged, along with a variety of trading venues with material liquidity, according to a Bitwise note. Investors may now find that futures and the ability to hedge are in place. Offerings are being made available from traditional financial institutions like Fidelity, Susquehanna, and CME, with more coming online.
Looking ahead, Bitwise believes that millennials, the rise of China, demand for privacy, rising interest for alternative investments and headwinds among traditional assets are major factors that will continue to fuel demand for cryptocurrencies.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies can register for the Tuesday, January 14 webcast here.