Bitcoin ETFs are poised to face two major determining factors before the end of the year, according to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas. These catalysts are expected to open Bitcoin ETFs to a broader range of investors across multiple platforms.
The first catalyst, according to the analyst, involves expanding the availability of Bitcoin ETFs into the center of the advisory world. Balchunas noted that BTC ETFs are not currently available on any major brokerage platform, which manages between $7 trillion and $10 trillion in assets. The analyst predicts that Bitcoin ETFs will appear on these platforms in the next few months.
Balchunas explains this situation as follows:
“It's like putting a product on the shelf of Whole Foods or a big-box food store. “That kind of exposure and availability will definitely help.”
Balchunas noted that in addition to brokerages, other major investment platforms such as Raymond James and LPL may also expand access to BTC ETFs. Balchunas also noted that many smaller platforms will follow suit.
The second catalyst, according to Balchunas, will be the launch of options trading for Bitcoin ETFs. He predicts options based on ETFs will be available by September:
“Those are the two big catalysts that I think still need to come. Not to mention the halving, which could lead to a price jump. “It's a small miracle that they've done so well without demand, without big platforms, without options.”
Looking beyond options, Balchunas said banks could create products structured around ETFs, similar to what they did at Ark Invest. He added that another tool to look out for would be 2X spot Bitcoin ETFs, where swaps are packaged within ETFs. He predicted that one or two of these leveraged ETFs would attract significant interest.
He suggested that this would be followed by covered call strategies as well as products like long BTC/short gold:
“They will try and have a few successes. And all of these successes will feed the ecosystem.”
*This is not investment advice.
