Oct 20, 2021 13:10:00

Bitcoin futures ETFs trade nearly 110 billion yen a day, record-breaking attention, what exactly is an ETF in the first place?

On October 19, 2021, the

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) 'ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ', which is linked to the futures trading price of crypto assets and Bitcoin, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The trading value of this ETF on the 19th has risen to nearly 1 billion dollars (about 110 billion yen), and it is the second ETF in history on the first day of listing, and it is attracting a lot of attention.

First bitcoin futures ETF rises more than 4% in trading debut on the NYSE
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/19/first-bitcoin-futures-etf-rises-2percent-in-trading-debut.html

First Bitcoin Futures ETF Rises in Trading Debut --WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/articles/first-bitcoin-futures-etf-rises-in-trading-debut-11634656217

First Bitcoin Futures ETF Nears $ 1B on First Day of Trading --Blockworks
https://blockworks.co/first-bitcoin-futures-etf-nears-1b-on-first-day-of-trading/

ETFs are financial products listed on the stock exchange among investment trusts managed with the aim of being linked to the price movements of specific indicators such as the Nikkei Stock Average. It is possible to invest without directly holding stocks, but it is easy to trade like stocks and the cost is low.

In the crypto asset industry, the appearance of ETFs related to Bitcoin has been long-awaited for many years. In 2017, an asset management company managed to apply to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a Bitcoin ETF, but it was rejected because the regulations were not catching up. The US Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved the handling of Bitcoin futures ETFs for the first time on October 15, as Bitcoin ETFs were repeatedly applied for. As a result, it has been decided that the 'Bitcoin Strategy ETF' set by ProShares, an American asset management company specializing in ETFs, will be listed on the

'BITO ' ticker on the 19th.

ProShares is on its official website, 'Bitcoin Strategy ETF is America's first Bitcoin-linked ETF. This ETF is a convenient, fluid and transparent way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin returns. It was created to provide an opportunity, and the fund aims to increase capital primarily by managing its exposure to Bitcoin futures contracts. ' The Bitcoin Strategy ETF does not invest directly in Bitcoin, and the price and performance of Bitcoin futures may differ from the Bitcoin price.

The Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which started trading in this way, was flooded with orders from investors from the first day of listing. According to financial research firm FactSet, Bitcoin Strategy ETF trading volume on the 19th was about $ 981 million (about 112 billion yen), and the daily trading volume of ETFs is

BlackRock US, which was listed in April 2021. It is the second after Carbon Transition Readiness ETF. In response to this boom, the Bitcoin Strategy ETF's price on the 19th rose about 4.9% from the beginning and closed at $ 41.94.

'There are many investors who have securities accounts and are willing to buy stocks and ETFs,' said Michael Sapia, CEO of ProShares, about the Bitcoin Strategy ETF. I think it is. '

Meanwhile, US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said, 'Since such ETFs are still a highly speculative asset class, investors have aspects of this ETF being volatility and speculative. You should understand that. '

At the time of writing the article, Bitcoin has been trading for more than $ 63,000 (about 7.2 million yen) since April 2021, which was the highest price ever.