Bitwise survey: 39% of respondents believe that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be launched within the year

Author: Ben Strack, Blockworks; Compiled by: Songxue, Golden Finance

A new survey found that more than half of financial advisors do not believe that spot Bitcoin trading funds (ETFs) will be launched this year .

However, some professional investors recognize that approving such an ETF would alleviate their concerns about putting money into the industry.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will rule on Jan. 10 on a spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by Ark Invest and 21Shares (and possibly a few others).

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts quantified the chance of approval as a 90% chance, citing BlackRock’s entry into the race and Grayscale Investments’ investment in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August. Commission (SEC) court victory. But others disagree, pointing out thatSEC leadership has not indicated a willingness to allow such a product to be launched.

According to a survey conducted by Bitwise and VettaFi, only 39% of financial professionals believe that spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will be approved in 2024.

The survey had more than 400 respondents, nearly half of whom were independent registered investment advisors (RIAs). The remaining respondents included broker representatives, financial planners, institutional investors and other investment professionals.

Overall, 98% of advisors currently investing in cryptoassets in client accounts plan to maintain or increase allocations. For those who are not already allocated in this area, 8% definitely or likely plan to increase customer exposure in 2024, while 21% are considering this approach.

Four out of five advisors said they were either unable to purchase cryptoassets for their clients or were unsure whether they would be able to. Half of respondents cited clearer regulation as a factor that would alleviate their concerns, while 14% cited the launch of a spot Bitcoin trading fund as a factor that would make them more willing to make such an allocation.

To this end, 88% of advisors interested in buying Bitcoin are waiting for SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, said in a statement: "There is a huge expectation gap between advisors and those who professionally monitor ETF developments. Add to this the fact that nearly 90% of advisors say they are Wait for ETFs to invest in Bitcoin, and you'll see the underlying huge demand in the market."

Bitwise and VettaFi collected responses on October 20 and December 18.

A lot has happened since that window ended, and companies continue to submit application amendments indicating expected authorized participants, fees and other details.

After the results of this survey were released, Bitwise research analyst Ryan Rasmussen said that due to the evolution of macro factors and expected supply and demand shocks, more financial advisors are considering increasing their allocation to Bitcoin.

Galaxy Digital research associate Charles Yu said in a report that he expects the Bitcoin ETF could attract $14.4 billion in inflows in its first year of trading — and will The asset’s price increased by 74%.

Yu noted in the report that assets under management by RIAs, broker-dealers and banks total about $48 trillion. His estimate stems from the assumption that Bitcoin ETF exposure is taken by 10% of the initial addressable market of approximately $14 trillion in assets, with an average allocation of 1%.