Why JPMorgan Says Bitcoin ETF Is No Big Deal

JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM expressed skepticism about the potential impact of approval of a spot Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to the banking giant, despite heightened optimism about the SEC granting approval, such an event is unlikely to drastically affect the crypto space, Coindesk reported.

The report by JPMorgan highlighted that Bitcoin funds, encompassing both futures-based and physically backed funds, have not been successful in attracting considerable investor interest since the second quarter of 2021.

The analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, noted, “Spot Bitcoin ETFs [have] existed for some time outside the U.S., in Canada and Europe, but have failed to attract large investor interest.”

The company emphasized: “Bitcoin funds overall, including futures-based and physically backed funds, have attracted little investor interest since Q2 2021, also failing to benefit from investor outflows from gold ETFs over the past year or so."

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While acknowledging that physically-backed Bitcoin ETFs have certain advantages over their futures-based counterparts, JPMorgan asserted that these benefits are somewhat minimal.

The company explained spot ETFs provided a more streamlined and safer avenue to invest in Bitcoin by eliminating some of the complications linked to the direct handling and transfer of Bitcoin and the basic risk tied to futures-based products.

“Spot ETFs are more likely than futures-based ETFs to reflect real-time supply and demand, and their approval in the U.S. would bring more liquidity and enhance price transparency in spot Bitcoin markets,” said JPMorgan.

JPMorgan also wrote about BlackRock Inc BLK, a prominent asset management firm, which submitted documents last month to create a spot Bitcoin ETF.

This action seemed to have set off a domino effect, inspiring other asset managers such as Invesco and Wisdom Tree to either apply or reapply for similar funds.

Nonetheless, JPMorgan’s overall stance remained that the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. is not expected to be a groundbreaking development for the cryptocurrency markets.

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