ASIC gives trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs green light..............

Just seen on SMH now.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...thereum-etfs-green-light-20211029-p594ea.html

Click link above for full article.

ASIC gives trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs green light

By Dominic Powell
October 29, 2021 — 4.31pm
Australia’s corporate regulator has given the green light to a range of cryptocurrency-related ETFs, which could see Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed investment funds trading on the ASX in the coming months.

On Friday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released a set of guidelines and requirements relating to crypto exchange-traded products, or ETPs, after a series of consultations the regulator has been undertaking since June.

The new guidelines will allow funds to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest directly in cryptocurrencies or in crypto-adjacent assets, such as crypto miners and coin exchanges. A number of local funds have recently expressed an interest in launching such offerings in Australia.

ETFs allow investors to purchase various securities, commodities or indices without having a direct exposure to the asset. Investors have been calling for an ETF that tracks the price of major cryptocurrencies as a way for traditional investors to gain exposure to the sector. Last week, the first Bitcoin futures ETF was launched in the US following approval from America’s corporate regulator.

ASIC has been mulling its approval of similar funds for some time, with today’s announcement coming less than two weeks after a major new package of crypto reforms was tabled in parliament by Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg.

 

Great article!

 

https://stockhead.com.au/cryptocurr...tm_source=Campaign Monitor&utm_term=Read More

 

I'm confused.
Doesn't this make crypto less attractive?
When I first joined SS, the attraction of bullion was that it was tangibly backed, and outside of the Govt system.
Now we are celebrating a new currency that is less tangible than fiat, and which is slowly being caressed by the tentacles of Govt regulations and control?
Go figure? I just don't get the hype.

The only possible positive outcome of this development, that I can see, for you guys is that it offers you the opportunity to whinge about "manipulation" and offload blame when things don't go your way..... and I already have earplugs poised for that.
Am I missing something?

 

Please enlighten me.

I have no fkn idea.

But, just for the record, I actually made my first crypto purchase last month.

After my daughter reluctantly revealed to me that she had 4-bagged on some weird crypto-shit in only 2 weeks, I thought I'd better have a go.
If she can do it (keeping in mind that her idea of a good investment is a fancy brand-named hoodie, or a manicure purchased at a nail-salon), then surely it doesn't take a genius. So I got her to show me how to buy this weird-ass fake BS rubbish, and she walked me through signing up with a platform.
Then, she had me scroll through a list of about 100 names of alleged crypto (all resembling the names of what I once remembered as transformers) and asked me to choose one.
Really? Choose one on what basis, I asked? Her answer..."OMG, I don't know, just choose one you like".
OMFG, "how sophisticated", I thought to myself.
So I scrolled through a bunch of meaningless crap until I came across one called "Shiba Inu". Now, I can speak enough Japanese to get by, so this was my crypto! Something I actually understood!
I purchase millions of this currency (I don't even know the fkn unit of measurement!..... coins?")
And, in a couple of weeks I had 8-bagged. Normally that would be exciting to me, especially if it was a stock I had analysed and found to be undervalued.
But no, it was a feeling of bewildering emptiness.
I had become another numpty. A punter.
It was the same feeling I get from winning a Melbourne Cup sweep - you know you know SFA, so you join a group of losers in a lottery, and swipe their cash out of pure luck.
I sold my Shiba Inu. Pocketed the cash, and continue to be perplexed as to WTF that was all about anyway?
I am convinced this whole thing is for stupid people who know nothing about investment, but want to pretend they are clever when they brag to their mates. Moreover, I'm starting to think it is for those that are so disheartened by their "sure-thing" PM returns that they are desperate enough to punt in the name of self-validation.
I don't get how this isn't just plain gambling?

 

I would add that the level of gambling is so much more extreme these days due to the policy actions of central banks basically flooding the system with liquidity. When people can borrow at very low interest levels with the money subsequently bidding up assets like crazy. You didn't have that as much in past decades.

Crypto has not yet matured. Most people don't realise what it is about. It is very similar to the dotcom days back in the 90's when most people had no idea what value this whole internet thing had and bid dotcom stocks up into a huge bubble. It's just more extreme with crypto due to much higher liquidity and much lower cost of entry.

I will expect it will eventually evolve into a mature market, much like dotcom did, and liquidity for over 90% of the coins will simply dry up as most people realize what the actual market is. But yes, right now, it is mostly a stupid casino. Imo, Bitcoin is the equivalent of the Amazon or Google of the 90's dotcom stocks.

 

bitcoin is constantly evolving, whatever you think it is by the time you have gotten around to being able it explain it, that will then be out of date as it transmutes into something else. gone from being a few lines of buggy code to incorporating encryption and game theory, governance and consensus models.

a simple way of explaining its price or "cost" is the cost of energy to mine a bitcoin, backed by all the energy used to maintain the chain of blocks. a currency based on energy will be the future, hence why previously trapped or untapped energy will be used to mine bitcoin.

 

Network effect has kicked in for Bitcoin imo.

Http is over 30 years old and it hasn't been superseded by anything else. Once the network effect kicks in, incremental improvements won't convince people to move to something else.

The only reason we have all these shitcoins flying around is because people don't understand the ecosystem because it has not yet hit maturity.

 

The dotcom era of the 90's was very similar to crpyto of today. People bought dotcom stocks because dotcom stocks go up in price. A lot. Which dotcom stock? Who cares? Just pick one. Pick the one with the name or logo that you like. It doesn't matter. It's all going up.

 

Part 2: If there is a dollar to be made....enter the banks.

https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2021/11/CBA-to-offer-crypto-services.html

3 November 2021

CBA to offer crypto services to customers
CBA announces strategic partnerships with global crypto leaders Gemini and Chainalysis.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has today announced that it will become Australia’s first bank to offer customers the ability to buy, sell and hold crypto assets, directly through the CommBank app.

CBA has partnered with one of the world’s largest regulated crypto exchanges and custodians, Gemini, and leading blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis. Both partnerships have allowed the bank to design a crypto exchange and custody service that will be offered to customers through a new feature in the app.

The pilot will start in the coming weeks and CBA intends to progressively rollout more features to more customers in 2022. CBA will provide customers with access to up to ten selected crypto assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.

Research from CBA has found a large number of its customers want to access crypto assets as an investment class and are already buying, selling and holding crypto assets through a variety of crypto exchanges.

CBA CEO Matt Comyn said: “The emergence and growing demand for digital currencies from customers creates both challenges and opportunities for the financial services sector, which has seen a significant number of new players and business models innovating in this area.

Click link above for full article.

 

Thankyou for confirming my suspicions...... it makes me feel better that my investment intuitiveness actually had this whole crypto thing pegged from the start.