United States v. Crypto ETFs: A Lingering Struggle For Mass Adoption

Sweden, which usually serves as a textbook example for getting crypto-based investment funds right, had introduced bitcoin traded products as early as in 2015.As pockets of crypto securities emerge in Europe and Asia, one major jurisdiction is conspicuously absent from this map - the United States.

Despite numerous efforts on behalf of investment firms to get a regulatory clearance for listing and trading cryptocurrency ETFs on major US exchanges, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been reluctant to open the floodgates so far.

Along with index mutual funds, ETFs are one of the major mainstream tools for passive investment.

Longing for the allure of regulated securities, many in fintech community consider the emergence of traded crypto funds a milestone on the way to mass adoption.

Serving as a liaison between the world of crypto exchanges, which remains obscure to many cautious investors, and more traditional financial tools, crypto ETFs should significantly broaden the scope of actors tapping into the pool of digital wealth.

A relatively new yet already fairly established financial instrument, 'regular' ETFs are commonly associated with lower investor risks than individual stocks.

One of the earliest precursors of crypto ETFs on US soil sprang from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss' work on a bitcoin price index, named, well, Winkdex.

Who's jumping on the bandwagonIt didn't take long until the next spike in crypto ETF filings occurred.

Bitcoin Investment Trust, ran by Grayscale under the ticker GBTC, held about 175,000 bitcoins as of February 2018.

Too many powerful and affluent actors are pushing towards the adoption of crypto ETFs by lobbying, legal, and invention activities.