By
nearly
all
metrics,
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
have
been
off
to
a
great
start.
And
yet,
the
launch
of
these
much
anticipated
products
is
tanking
the
price
of
the
industry’s
leading
asset.
Since
Jan.
10,
the
day
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
approved
the
roster
of
exchange-traded
funds,
bitcoin
(BTC)
is
down
about
15%.
What
was
widely
regarded
to
be
the
most
bullish
event
in
recent
crypto
history,
with
the
possibility
of
drawing
in
millions
of
new
bitcoin
investors
and
potentially
billions
in
capital,
may
actually
—
at
least
temporarily
—
be
cooling
bitcoin’s
jets.
This
is
an
excerpt
from
The
Node
newsletter,
a
daily
roundup
of
the
most
pivotal
crypto
news
on
CoinDesk
and
beyond.
You
can
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the
full
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here.
This
is
largely
due
to
the
billions
of
dollars
exiting
GBTC,
which
transitioned
to
an
ETF
from
a
closed-ended
trust,
meaning
investors
are
finally
able
to
pull
their
capital
out.
Grayscale
has
seen
more
than
$3
billion
in
redemptions,
only
some
of
which
is
flowing
into
other
bitcoin
ETFs
that
charge
much
lower
fees
than
GBTC’s
1.5%.
On
social
media,
noted
VC
Chris
Burniske
said
bitcoin
has
yet
to
bottom
out,
giving
a
price
prediction
as
low
as
$20,000,
in
an
echo
of
a
recent
Deutsche
Bank
survey
that
found
one-in-three
respondents
saying
the
largest
cryptocurrency
could
dip
below
$20,000
by
year’s
end.
Just
15%
of
Deutsche’s
2,000
survey
takers
across
the
U.S.,
U.K.
and
E.U.
said
they
expect
bitcoin’s
price
to
stabilize
between
$40,000
and
$75,000
by
year-end.
Is
this
negative
sentiment
around
bitcoin
warranted?
Burniske
apparently
doesn’t
see
many
positive
advancements
in
the
near
term,
not
even
mentioning
the
upcoming
bitcoin
halving
(expected
in
April)
that
many
other
market
onlookers
are
hoping
will
buoy
bitcoin.
“New
product
innovations
are
close,
but
not
quite
there
yet
…
things
still
feel
insular,”
Burniske
wrote,
adding
that
“precarious”
macroeconomic
factors
will
likely
continue
to
press
on
bitcoin.
It’s
hard
to
say
exactly
what
will
happen,
but
it’s
also
difficult
to
see
many
long-term
headwinds
working
against
bitcoin.
In
terms
of
regulation,
it
seems
like
the
worst
of
it
is
behind
the
industry
now
that
Binance
settled
charges
with
the
Department
of
Justice
and
the
FTX
saga
is
wrapped
up.
And
if
it’s
true
that
continuing
outflows
from
GBTC
are
primarily
the
cause
of
the
recent
market
dip,
that’s
likely
to
wrap
up
eventually,
too.
FTX,
for
instance,
has
already
sold
off
all
of
its
GBTC.
Many
others
participated
in
the
so-called
“widowmaker
trade,”
which
involved
trading
BTC
for
GBTC
and
profiting
when
GBTC
was
at
a
premium
and
losing
big
when
it
fell
to
a
discount,
but
JPMorgan
said
“GBTC
profit
taking”
is
likely
over.
But
to
put
recent
downward
price
movements
in
context,
bitcoin
fell
nearly
30%
the
day
the
SEC
rejected
the
first
bitcoin
ETF
application
submitted
by
Cameron
and
Tyler
Winklevoss
in
2013.
Then,
there’s
the
bull
market
beginning
in
2017,
a
year
which
began
with
the
People’s
Bank
of
China
deciding
to
ban
crypto
and
restricting
what
were
then
the
“Big
Three”
exchanges,
Huobi,
OKCoin
and
BTCC.
All
of
this
is
to
say
that
bitcoin
has
always
had
its
ups
and
downs.
Bitcoin
ETFs
have
been
a
disappointment
in
terms
of
immediately
fomenting
another
rally,
but
are
still
a
symbol
for
the
long-term
viability
of
the
asset
class.
The
first
few
weeks
of
trading
have
seen
record-busting
volumes,
and
as
Deutsche’s
survey
found
the
majority
of
ETF
flows
have
come
from
retail
investors,
indicating
it
is
a
tool
that
could
further
adoption.
As
Burniske
said,
“As
always,
patience
is
your
friend.”
