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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin ETF products may not attract institutional interest, a TradeFi analyst claims.
- However, pre-ETF approval data shows demand among rich investors.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied more than 70% so far in 2023, primarily due to anticipations about a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the US. However, a popular gold expert believes the buzz is hollow.
No Institutional Interest in Bitcoin ETFs
Peter Schiff, the chief executive officer and global strategist at Euro Pacific Capital, says a Bitcoin ETF approval would not enable institutional investments in the product.
“Bitcoin pumpers claim that once there are more Bitcoin ETFs, investment professionals will start buying them for their clients,” said Schiff on Oct. 21, adding:
“That will never happen. There’s just too much liability. Investment advisors won’t buy them, and stock brokers will only accept unsolicited buy orders.”
Schiff is a self-proclaimed Bitcoin critic, notorious among crypto investors for pushing his “gold agenda” by ridiculing cryptocurrencies. Interestingly, he has predicted Bitcoin’s death multiple times, which has typically preceded BTC price rallies, as CoinChapter covered here.
As a result, most crypto hardliners jokingly treat Schiff’s warnings about Bitcoin as a buy signal.
Pre-ETF Approval Data Shows Strong BTC Demand
Peter Schiff’s warning about Bitcoin ETFs’ inability to attract institutional investors falls short if one turns to funds data in 2023.
Tracked by CoinShares, the data shows that the Bitcoin-based investment funds have attracted $260 million worth of investments so far this year. In contrast, Ethereum-specific funds have witnessed $111 million in outflows.
The data coincides with an immediate increase in the Bitcoin whale transactions exceeding $1 million in notional value after BlackRock’s ETF application.
In addition, Bitcoin’s richest investors have started accumulating the cryptocurrency, as tracked by supply distribution among addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC.
For instance, the Bitcoin supply held by the 100,000-1 million BTC balance cohort (black) jumped after BlackRock ETF filings and stabilized afterward. Similarly, the 1,000-10,000 BTC balance cohort (orange) has jumped.
Is Bitcoin ETF Rejection Possible?
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been notorious for rejecting BTC ETF applications without solid explanations. For instance, the US securities regulator can use the recent Cointelegraph fake news event to support its market manipulation concerns.
However, it looks increasingly likely that the SEC will approve a spot BTC ETF application by Jan. 10, 2024. The outlook appears as a reinforcement of multiple investment firms involved with ETF filings expressing their confidence in an approval.
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