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The long-anticipated bitcoin ETF has yet to materialize, but American investors seek to gain exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency through their standard brokerage accounts now have a consolation prize.
Bloomberg reports that Bitcoin Tracker One, an exchange-traded note (ETN) that has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2015, can now be traded in U.S. brokerage accounts under ticker symbol CXBTF.
"Everyone that's investing in dollars or Swedish krona," said Ryan Radloff, CEO of CoinShares Holdings – the parent of the company that offers the bitcoin ETN – in an interview with Bloomberg. "This is a big win for Bitcoin."
Technically, Bitcoin Tracker One will be publicly traded on the U.S.-based over-the-counter (OTC) market, the same type of platform that lists Grayscale Investments' popular Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC: GBTC).
Like GBTC, CXBTF holds bitcoins on behalf of shareholders, allowing them to invest in bitcoins while offloading the custodial risk into an annual management fee.
However, Bitcoin Tracker One could prove to be a more attractive option. GBTC and its cousin, the Ethereum Classic Investment Trust (OTC: ETCG) regularly traded to the net asset value (NAV). CXBTF, on the other hand, is listed on an exchange, providing it with more liquidity and helping it to trade at less than a premium.
"I'll see this as a competitive product," added Radloff. "Our products historically have not been translated to a premium and are liquid."
Just tried to pick up some $ CXBTF in my @MerrillLynch IRA and ETNs (as well as crypto products) are blocked by the firm.
Can someone point me to a new IRA provider that will let me trade this? I'll move my funds over today. https://t.co/a3Q2QRnO30
– Spencer Noon 🕛 (@spencernoon) August 15, 2018
Competitive, that is, if investors can convince their brokerage account providers to make the bitcoins ETN available on their platforms. CXBTF trading or require them to jump through extra hoops to place an order.
The real reason that many cryptocurrency investors are hoping that regulators will approve to bitcoins ETF is that they will lead to more mainstream adoption – particularly on Wall Street.
This announcement is not likely to be that effect, at least not to the extent that an actual bitcoin ETF would. However, it does not provide the United Kingdom with its first real competition in the U.S., which could be used to hold the flagship cryptocurrency in tax-advantaged accounts.
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