UNCHAINED: Why Some Brokerage Firms Are Blocking Access to Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Three ETF experts discuss all things Bitcoin ETF, from record-high trading volumes to how the SEC botched the approval and roll-out process to brokerages blocking customer purchases.
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably heard that spot Bitcoin ETFs were finally approved by the SEC this week. That set the stage for 11 such offerings from the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK 21Shares to begin trading on Thursday. On this episode of Unchained, Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store; Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence; and James Seyffart, research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence discussed the initial record trading volumes, the mechanics of how the funds work, the botched roll-out process, the pointed commentary from SEC commissioners, the potential for future Ethereum spot ETFs and predictions for total inflows. Plus, they explain why brokerage firms like Vanguard, Merrill and others were blocking customer access to the ETFs.
Show highlights:
The initial impact and trading volumes on the launch day of the ETFsHow BlackRock’s ETF, IBIT, had a lot of volume in pre-market and what that meansWhy Eric was surprised that BlackRock proceeded with a waiver for its ETF, but realized that it was “genius marketing”Whether there’s a problem that ETFs don’t trade 24/7, unlike BTC itselfWhy James says the spot ETFs are not going to have significant premiums or discounts to NAV What the percentage premium is and how it will play out with spot Bitcoin ETFsWhether the SEC will ever allow in-kind creation and redemptionWhy Nate and Eric believe that the SEC’s denials of spot Bitcoin ETFs for a decade was “completely suboptimal” for retail investorsHow the SEC commissioners pointedly disagreed with each other in their comments and dissentsThe politics of the approval processWhether Ethereum spot ETFs will be approved nextWhy some big platforms and brokerages are not offering the spot Bitcoin ETFsHow RIAs will respond to the ETF and whether there’s going to be mainstream adoption by advisorsThank you to our sponsors! Arbitrum Foundation | Popcorn Network | iTrustCapital
Guests:
James Seyffart, Research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday
Why the SEC May Want Cash Creation of Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF
Why a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Probably Launch No Later Than January 10
Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday
Will a Spot Bitcoin ETF Finally Get Approved?
Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on spot Bitcoin ETFs:
The 4 Factors That Will Determine Which Spot Bitcoin ETFs Win Market Share
How Much Money Will Flow Into Bitcoin ETFs? Here’s One Projection
The Chopping Block: Are We Back? The ‘Low IQ’ Response to the Potential Spot Bitcoin ETF
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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.
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