Albert Salvany, founding partner of Funding Fast, on the approval of bitcoin ETFs in the US. "The authorization of these ETFs brings bitcoin to play in the Champions of the financial markets, making it available to all audiences, overcoming the obstacle of technological knowledge to invest in and manage it," says the expert, adding: "The wholesale investment in these assets receives what I believe is the definitive boost for it to consolidate."
He expects, however, "a war of commissions, not only between the agents who have tradable ETFs at this moment, but in the rest of the purchase and sale points of these assets." "We will see what impact this has on the trading platforms for these assets, with a view to attracting new clients. It is clear that we will see a progressive harmonization of commissions for operations in bitcoin," he adds.
He also points out that "taking into account the managers of some of them, with a clear international vocation (BlackRock, Invesco, Fidelity...) I am convinced that the list of these products will not take long to be present in their agents and marketers in Spain, so availability should be practically immediate."
The authorization of these ETFs leads bitcoin to play in the Champions of the financial markets
The analysis of what will happen in the market after the approval of bitcoin ETFs by the SEC has two different aspects. On the one hand, its influence on the digital asset market and, on the other, the impact on the traditional market.
Regarding the digital asset market, it has responded at first with increases in ether, paradoxically, and a more timid reaction in bitcoin. It is a demonstration that the news is more than discounted. But, beyond this impact in the short term, what we end up seeing in the medium and long term are the real consequences of that news. Regarding the latter, what can be expected is an increase in demand for bitcoin, we will see how much it amounts to. The latter will end up being an important factor and there are already institutions that estimate it at 10,000 million dollars, only in the first year of listing of these products. My impression is that this figure may be very short depending on the evolution of the cryptoasset market.
Regarding the traditional market, we have two readings:
The first refers to the appearance of a new type of asset, which in principle can be an agent of portfolio decorrelation, and may produce a leak of liquidity from other assets.
The second refers to the fact that this liquidity leak can be channeled into a regulated asset transacted in the traditional system, the ETF, so entities now have alternatives to avoid losing that client looking for this type of investment.
The authorization of these ETFs brings bitcoin to play in the Champions of the financial markets, making it available to all audiences, overcoming the obstacle of technological knowledge to invest in and manage it. It is a fact that greatly reduces friction in the investment process, something that can be decisive for the novice or temporary investor, who does not want to worry about technology.
The impact on the retail investor is clear, but let's not forget what this means for institutional investment. Wholesale investment in these assets receives what I believe is the definitive boost to consolidate it. Until now, this type of investor had two clear barriers to acquiring this type of product:
Regulatory: The rules and regulations of the markets themselves made it impossible to have this type of assets in portfolios.
Technological: To enable the acquisition and custody of cryptoassets, a series of technological modifications had to be made in the management systems of these companies, quite profound modifications that affected the entire transactional process related to these assets (purchase, custody, liquidation... )
These two barriers fall when investing in bitcoin becomes something as simple as having ETF titles in your portfolios, with the corresponding regulatory support.
Another interesting aspect to comment on is the impact on other managers, and in this case we can surely find parallels with other products. It is clear that once regulated, any manager or marketer that has an audience related to this level of risk, and even already has products with these characteristics, will seek to incorporate an ETF of this type. No one will want to lose the opportunity to attract new clients and the ability to retain clients who intend to invest in this asset.
And this opens up an interesting debate: the SEC, according to its own statement, has approved a batch of ETFs with the idea of promoting competition from the first moment, making the correct reading that the first moments are going to be key.
And this will encourage something that we are already beginning to see, which is a commission war, not only between the agents that have tradable ETFs at this moment, but in the rest of the points of purchase and sale of these assets. We will see what impact this has on the trading platforms for these assets, with a view to attracting new clients. It is clear that we will see a progressive harmonization of commissions for operations in bitcoin, special mention in this aspect deserves the case of Grayscale, with a Trust product that had commissions much higher than traditional ETFs and that will have to adapt its model of business to the new situation
How do we access these ETFs from Spain?
Today, the way to access ETFs on Spanish soil is to go to the financial agent and check if those ETFs are in the portfolio. Taking into account the managers of some of them, with a clear international vocation (BlackRock, Invesco, Fidelity...) I am convinced that the list of these products will not take long to be present in their agents and marketers in Spain, so availability should be practically immediate.
Once again, competition comes into play and, if as a marketer you do not have this vehicle, but the competition has it, you could have a loss of customers.
DISCLAIMER:
Investment in crypto assets is not regulated, may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost.
Information about the company:
Funding Fast Fintech & Web 3 Studio was born with the aim of becoming the ally of startups, investors and alternative funds to help them achieve their business objectives. For startups, Funding Fast has the mission of being a facilitator, coach and advisor to promote the growth of companies' business projects by seeking financing and being part of the advisory board of each project, in order to provide support in each one of its phases: from definition to product launch. On the buy side, for investors and funds, Funding Fast offers new investment opportunities in leading sectors in which it has a high level of specialization, such as fintech, blockchain, Web 3, by applying a project selection process based in its own methodology that contributes to efficient decision making.
Source: Territorioblockchain.com