-
While
ETF
listings
could
occur
within
days
of
approval,
the
wider
effect
will
take
months
to
assess,
said
Ophelia
Snyder,
co-founder
of
crypto
custodian
21Shares. -
It
takes
at
least
90
days
for
money
managers
to
process
additions
to
their
list
of
approved
allocations. -
Even
with
ETFs
getting
the
green
light,
the
underlying
asset
remains
at
the
risk
of
SEC
disapproval.
With
the
first
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
finally
approved
in
the
U.S.,
listings
on
exchanges
could
occur
within
days,
said
Ophelia
Snyder,
co-founder
of
crypto
custodian
21Shares.
Gauging
their
effect
on
the
market
is
likely
to
take
months.
Wealth-management
firms
must
adhere
to
various
processes
before
they
can
add
the
ETFs
to
their
list
of
approved
allocations,
said
Snyder,
whose
Zug,
Switzerland-based
firm
teamed
up
with
Cathie
Wood’s
ARK
Invest
to
propose
an
ETF
that
was
among
those
winning
approval
from
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
on
Wednesday.
“That
typically
takes
90
days,
so
we’re
not
even
going
to
begin
to
see
what
this
actually
looks
like
for
at
least
a
quarter,”
Snyder
said
in
an
interview.
“Just
because
a
product’s
available
to
trade
on
does
not
actually
mean
that
every
adviser
in
America
can
buy
it
…
it
requires
a
lot
of
compliance
for
them
to
add
the
tickers
–
they
don’t
get
added
by
default.”
For
full
coverage
of
bitcoin
ETFs,
click
here.
Snyder
said
she
expects
the
first
funds
to
list
on
exchanges
within
two
days,
the
same
as
it
took
the
ProShares
Bitcoin
Strategy
(BITO)
ETF
after
its
approval
in
October
2021.
“Standard
ETF
process
is
usually
a
week
or
two.
BITO
was
particularly
fast,
and
I
think
this
will
be
fast,”
she
said.
Snyder
says
it’s
impossible
to
conceptualize
the
potential
changes
in
trading
volumes
that
could
result
from
ETF
inflows.
Bitcoin
(BTC),
the
largest
cryptocurrency,
has
rallied
50%
in
the
past
six
months
in
anticipation
of
approval,
with
traders
betting
the
introduction
of
ETFs
would
draw
huge
demand
from
institutional
investors.
Analysts
at
Standard
Chartered
forecast
$1
billion
of
inflows
in
the
three
months
after
approval
and
potentially
more
than
$100
billion
by
the
end
of
the
year.
According
to
Snyder,
there
were
some
$1.2
trillion
of
net
inflows
into
ETFs
as
a
whole
in
the
past
24
months.
The
total
market
cap
for
all
cryptocurrencies
is
around
$1.8
trillion.
“That’s
not
capital
appreciation
of
the
share
base
–
that’s
net
inflows,”
she
said.
“These
numbers
just
do
not
coexist
in
the
crypto
space.
They
look
very
different
when
we
play
with,
for
lack
of
a
better
description,
the
big
boys.”
Lingering
uncertainties
Snyder
says
there
are
other
uncertainties
about
the
crypto
industry
that
will
now
be
exposed
to
greater
scrutiny:
Approval
does
not
offset
the
SEC’s
doubts
about
cryptocurrency
in
general.
“What
the
SEC
is
going
to
do
about
bitcoin
still
matters,
and
that’s
something
that
people
just
don’t
totally
get,”
she
said.
“Managers
at
financial
firms
are
staking
their
reputations
and
their
careers
on
the
investments
that
they
make.
If
they
make
a
bitcoin
investment
and
then
the
SEC
decides
it’s
illegal,
that’s
going
to
be
a
problem.”
SEC
Chair
Gary
Gensler
has
on
several
occasions
indicated
concerns
about
the
crypto
industry,
noting
the
number
of
frauds
and
bankruptcies
and,
at
one
point,
referring
to
parts
of
it
as
the
“Wild
West.”
Standing
Out
With
the
approval,
providers
are
attempting
to
differentiate
themselves
from
their
peers.
That’s
particularly
the
case
for
fees.
Initial
charges
mainly
ranged
between
0.24%
of
net
assets
and
0.90%,
and
the
first
announcement
sparked
a
race
toward
the
low
end,
with
a
slew
of
reductions
on
Tuesday
and
again
on
Wednesday.
The
standout
is
Grayscale,
which
is
turning
its
Bitcoin
Trust
(GBTC)
into
an
ETF
and
plans
to
charge
1.5%.
The
investment
firm
may
be
relying
on
its
size
advantages
over
the
others,
offsetting
the
higher
fee.
Grayscale
already
has
more
than
$27
billion
of
assets
under
management
even
before
approval,
thus
being
able
to
offer
greater
volume
and
liquidity
than
its
competitors,
who
are
essentially
starting
at
zero.
“I
don’t
think
they’re
going
to
see
a
lot
of
inflows
with
the
way
they’re
priced,
but
presumably
their
pricing
strategy
would
suggest
that’s
not
what
they’re
chasing,”
Snyder
said,
adding
that
Grayscale
may
be
relying
on
largely
retaining
GBTC’s
existing
investor
pool.
Whether
Grayscale
sees
significant
outflows
to
cheaper
funds
may
depend
on
their
investors’
motivations:
whether
they
bought
their
shares
for
the
long-term,
whether
they’re
now
holding
them
at
a
gain
or
a
loss,
and
so
on.
“I
don’t
think
there’s
going
to
be
immediate
massive
outflows,
but
I
think
that’s
the
kind
of
thing
you
might
see
over
time,”
Snyder
said.
“Like
everything,
it’s
going
to
be
a
process
and
it’ll
take
time
to
see
how
these
things
shake
out.”