Big money has always been able to get coins easily, even withoit any ETF. For example, back in late 2013, the Fortress investment group (>60 billion USD in managed assets, >300 million USD/year of revenue) bought 13 million USD worth of bitcoins (which
they later disposed of). Basically anyone with a fair income and a million dollars in hand could buy BIT shares, since Sep/2013. The last USMS auction got no big buyers, not even Tim Draper.
Obviously, "big money" is not buying bitcoins because they are not interested.
First of, the "
"big money" is not buying bitcoins because they are not interested." part is utterly wrong. They do care, but as I said they have no
EASY way in. It's different than ie: I want to buy 200,000 Apple stocks today. This has to change.
What ETFs want to do is to provide easy access to BTCs for the masses. Small money or big money doesn't matter. If I want to go on and buy in,
NOW, because I think it's a nice thing to do, then I'll be able to do it, so will everybody else. If I want to sell, then it will be feasible too.
I gave above a couple examples showing that "big money"
did in fact buy bitcoins, and therefore
could buy; but then did not buy more, even though it had the opportunity to do so. Not for regulation problems, but just because "big money" does not like to lose money.
PLUS: It's gonna be TRANSPARENT!
Not sending money to some Polish bank account named after John Doe & Co.
Big money did not have to interact with the exchanges directly. Intermediaries could easily buy 200'000 bitcoins for them, on or off the exchanges, for a modest fee to compensate for their risk. Second Market bought at least 120'000 over 8 months, and surely what made them stop was not lack of bitcoins, but lack of investors.
Not without every transaction is recorded and be visible to EVERYBODY.
Bitcoin ownership is not easily identifiable. Even if you could identify my 660'000 BTC in the blockchain, if you saw them being moved to another address, can you tell whether I sold them, or they are still mine?
On the other hand, although ownership and trades of fund shares are not public, they are known to the brokers and are recorded in a centralized share registry. ("Bearer bonds" have been outlawed decades ago.)
Not without knowing FOR SURE, what's real and what's not.
Not with a Willy Bot that buys in virtual BTCs with virtual money.
If you have the private keys, you know that you have the bitcoins. I you own BIT or COIN shares, you have to trust that the fund management company did not lose their coins by hacking, embezzlement, accident, or incompetence. (Yes, they are audited -- like Enron was. No, they are not insured against those things.)
