Image source: @stellabelle remix from YouTube and Pixabay
In the last few days I kept seeing people online discussing the Bitcoin ETF and to be honest, I had no freaking clue what they were talking about. After 5 hours of research, now I do.
I’m going to break it down for you in the simplest way possible.
First of all, ETF stands for Exchange-Traded Funds. There currently exists a lot of different kinds of ETFs. They’re sort of like Mutual Funds but they can be traded like stocks. I’m sure you know what a Mutual Fund is, so you get a rough idea. At any rate, if a Bitcoin ETF existed, that would mean way more regular investors could invest their money in Bitcoin without having to worry about digital wallets, buying on exchanges and securing their Bitcoins with cryptography. It would give the investor masses a way to enjoy the benefits of Bitcoin without having to go through all the technological hoops in securing those Bitcoins.
You see, there is currently no Bitcoin ETF and so for regular people who don’t want to bother with learning all the technological stuff that accompanies Bitcoin security, they are just excluded from the Bitcoin market. This Bitcoin ETF could bring in a lot more people from the mainstream.
On March 11, 2017 the SEC will make a decision to either accept or reject the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF.
This future ruling is believed to be a major reason that the Bitcoin price has surged in recent weeks. The Winklevoss twins have been trying to get their Bitcoin ETF approved since 2013. See the entire history of SEC filings for the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust here. There are two other groups also trying to get Bitcoin ETFs approved by the SEC.
According Bloomberg’s most recent article from March 2, 2017:
An approved ETF would make bitcoin investing simple for small traders and institutions, while potentially boosting the digital currency just as it’s hitting new highs almost daily. Some $300 million could pour into a bitcoin ETF in its first week, Spencer Bogart, head of research at venture-capital investor Blockchain Capital, said in an interview. -Bloomberg, Winklevoss Twins Await Imminent SEC Decision on Bitcoin ETF
A quick search on several websites gives no certain indication whether the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF is expected to be approved or rejected by the SEC. It’s anyone’s guess but it definitely would create very big waves within the Bitcoin community and add a layer of trust to Bitcoin’s future. It will be a huge day if the SEC approves it. The Bitcoin world will certainly go nuts since the Winklevoss twins have been trying to get this passed for over 3 years now.
What are your thoughts on the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF?
Disclaimer: I am in no way providing financial advice or recommendations to invest in Bitcoin or anything else.
I'm just going to go ahead and say it... The sooner Bitcoin implodes under its own weight, the sooner viable, scalable crypto projects will receive the energy they need to evolve and succeed.
All due respect to Bitcoin and it's pioneers, but no one ever believed that the Model-T, as great of an achievement as it was at the time, was the final word in transportation.
You can only strap booster rockets on a model T-Ford for so long and call it an airplane while third generation crypto such as Steem (Graphene) and other innovators in the crypto-sphere such as Ethereum, are building legit space ships.
It's an absurdity, and a quasi-religious ego-tripping blindness that keeps the crypto space from evolving faster than it has.
In a few years from now, no one will doubt that Bitcoin belongs in a digital Smithsonian. But for now... We remain hobbled by those who cling to their front-runner Model-T with such a fervor it makes the pious blush.
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I'm thinking of something different.....here's my take on it:
Bitcoin goes mainstream when the scaling issue gets resolved (I'm optimistic about this). While everyone gets used to using Bitcoin, they learn about Ether, Steem, Monero, Dash, etc. Explosive growth takes place in the next 10 years with crypto projects that add real value to people....the ones that don't add value will just die off.
If Steem doesn't get its act together in diminishing the absurd distance between whales and newbies, this platform will be Myspaced by a different one that gets the mass distribution (in terms of clear communication and also massive reach.....possibly even combining mining with crowdsale of new coin right on the launch.
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;)
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It's probably going to get rejected but when that happens it is possible that some of the money in bitcoin will then be pushed into altcoins.
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Yep, Fingers crossed.. ;)
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yeah, me too.
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Yeah its more likely it will not pass. One of the key reasons will be b/c of scaling. Bitcoin is 2-3 years away from being able to scale and there is a chance maybe never. Segwit has a very low chance of activation and even if its activated Lightening Network is not ready. Meanwhile Alts like ETH are ready to go now with clear scaling road map.
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Meanwhile, alts like Steem are ready to go... Already fully scalable. ;)
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Ethereum and Steem are my favorite blockchains. Each has there own specializations and development. There's no blockchain Social media platform even close to Steem. Akasha is not even releasing to the main net until next winter and Synereo is broken. POS will prove to be superior over POW. I know its only a matter of time before Steem takes off again. There's too many users, investors here and development for it not too.
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do you have the technical data about the main differences between the Bitcoin blockchain and the Steem blockchain? Why is scaling already solved? What is it exactly? Technically speaking, I'm very interested in learning how they are different.
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I talked with the universal consortium of benevolent entities and they agreed to manage events for me in the answering of our questions on scalability. ;) Which is great because I've been really pressed for time lately. Cheers, b
https://steemit.com/bitshares/@oaldamster/bitshares-is-superior-to-any-other-crypto-and-therefore-so-is-steem
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Great, I'll have my AI secretary read that and respond appropriately.
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Yes, but let me put it together in a nice tidy comparison and I'll get back to you on this.
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ok i'll be waiting for it...
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I don't think it will be so smooth for ether though. I hope the BTC issues get resolved because it would sad to see it get killed by infighting.
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I just don't see how the issue will be solve anytime soon. I know it will eventually but in the Blockchain world 1 year is like 10. One big thing that is becoming clear to me is POS can be more secure than POW. This time next year a lot will have changed. This is one thing I am sure of.
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NOOOOOOOOOO!
I mean how long can the SEC keep rejecting it???
I'm voting that it passes. (I'm an idealist)
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I read about this guys in a book called Virtual Billions. A bit of historical upset between them and Mark Zuckerberg over facebook but I think this ETF could be their bigger deal.
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I reviewed all their holdings. They are respectable it appears. I'm in favor of the SEC accepting it. I'm a bit of an idealist.
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Most likely rejected unless they can somehow guaruntee against a hack, or have equal values of cash on hand incase of a hack.
Wall street doesnt want to get fcked and the u.s. government has traditionally done everything in their power to safeguard these traders.
Bitcoin is still relatively new, so i see a big rejection letter heading this way and bitcoin price retracing for some while after.
Just my opinion though, i am often wrong
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I'm anxious for it to get rejected so bitcoin can move beyond all the ETF speculation
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BUT THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS!!!!
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They both regret the day they came up with the etf idea, they are ready to move on too
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what??????????? Are you nuts? They keep trying. They won't give up.
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giving up is not an option, that's why they regret it
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Well, I guess if it's approved, it would certainly add more credibility to the idea of cryptocurrencies being "a real thing," beyond just the hard core that support them now.
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exactly.
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It comes to my mind to have listened that SEC will accept the ETF but they will not allow them to operate.
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I think that it will be rejected, but at this stage don't know if it is a good or a bad thing. I'm not very excited about the financial speculation around btc that i saw in the last weeks. To survive btc has to establish itself as a widespread currency, but an ETF approval will bring in a stronger financial speculation (from wall street), that means more volatility and volatility is not good feature for a currency.
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I would avoid the Bitcoin ETFs like I avoid the Gold ETFs - like a dose of genital herpes! I'm keeping my gold bars firmly locked in a Geneva safety deposit box thank you!
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I wouldn't buy it either, but I think a lot of regular investors would...
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... a niche idiot product for the non-crypto educated!
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