Bitcoin ETFs: Even worse for crypto than central exchanges
Want some worthless "paper" Bitcoin? With the rise of Bitcoin ETFs, you might soon have the chance to invest in something as worthless as the U.S. dollar. Recent weeks have seen a surge in interest from traditional finance for crypto -based exchange -traded funds (ETFs). After the Securities and Exchange Commission took issue with its initial filing, BlackRock submitted a fresh application for a Bitcoin ETF on July 3. A week earlier, Fidelity led a crop of investment firms in lodging applications with the SEC for Bitcoin-based ETFs. Meanwhile, HSBC has become the first bank to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs to customers in Hong Kong. In the context of Bitcoin, it is often the seemingly positive news that is harmful over the longer term; and vice versa, short-term negative news often serves to strengthen the ongoing case for Bitcoin. A good example of the latter is the 2017 “Blocksize War,” when the Bitcoin community split into the big block camp that launched the B...