Is Bitcoin a Good Investment in 2024?

“They don’t have the ability to put these bitcoin ETFs into client discretionary portfolios, yet,” Sigel says. “But we can observe several banks and brokers already preparing these models, which we expect to emerge later this year.” Patrick McGimpsey is a freelance writer passionate about crypto and its impact on the financial world. Currently working as the content lead for Australian startup CryptoTaxCalculator, Patrick has also covered the crypto industry for Canstar and The Chainsaw. Patrick has over seven years of experience in the crypto space and has previously shared his knowledge with the AML and fraud departments of Australian financial Institutions.

  1. Hence, for long-term holders who are happy to hold their coins through the volatile periods, simply buying and holding the actual digital currency itself is the smarter option.
  2. It is essential to know that the price of a bitcoin futures contract is broadly proportional to the price of bitcoin.
  3. The contracts trade on the Globex electronic trading platform and are settled in cash.

The company tends to work alongside asset management firms and hedge funds. Many years down the road, cryptocurrencies should become as uncontroversial as stocks, bonds, or savings accounts, with solid and consistent legal and regulatory rulebooks in every country. But that future is a long way away from 2023 and nobody knows exactly what those fully settled directives will look like, or what Bitcoin’s specific role will be. Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer.

So for example, think of a farmer who’s selling grain crops at the start of the growing season. If the price of grain drops between now and when he harvests, he is out of pocket. These regulations introduce a guide that controls the contract and allows https://traderoom.info/ both speculators and investors in the futures contracts to comply. The rules are crystal clear, and the consequences of breaking the rules are well presented in advance. Trading bitcoin futures comes with a lot of advantages and disadvantages.

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In June of 2023, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed plans to start a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for BTC. Multiple other institutions followed suit, with WisdomTree, ARK Invest and others lodging their gci trading review first application or updating existing applications shortly after BlackRock’s announcement. The swell of activity has allowed CME to eclipse Binance as the largest bitcoin derivatives trading exchange in the world.

The SEC warned investors about the pitfalls of trading cryptocurrency futures in June 2021. “Among other things, investors should understand that Bitcoin, including gaining exposure through the Bitcoin futures market, is a highly speculative investment.” For example, CME allows a maximum of 2,000 front-month futures contracts and 5,000 contracts across different maturities. All futures contracts derive their value from their respective underlying security. This is the market’s current price at which Bitcoin can be purchased or sold for immediate delivery.

So MicroStrategy has converted most of its cash reserves into Bitcoin and keeps buying more whenever it finds more spare cash to invest. In Saylor’s view, that’s the only reasonable way to manage your company’s cash in the long run. As I write this, Bitcoin’s market price stands 62% below the all-time high of November 2021. At the same time, Bitcoin has tripled in three years and gained 1,500% in six years. About half the value of the total crypto market comes from Bitcoin alone. So there are plenty of Bitcoin bulls out there, but also lots of bearish investors.

A bitcoin futures contract works by offering traders access to trade against volatile markets and ensuring they can buy or sell bitcoin at a specific price and date in the future. Another massive benefit of trading bitcoin futures is that you’re actually not trading bitcoin itself. Thus, you do not need to have a wallet, or you needn’t provide any physical or underlying asset to exchange bitcoin. This completely erases the risk of holding bitcoin that increases and reduces in price at any given time. Cryptocurrencies are digital assets, making them susceptible to cybersecurity risks. Hacks, fraud, and security breaches in cryptocurrency exchanges can impact the value of Bitcoin.

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Like mutual funds, ETFs have stated investment objectives and use professional money managers to meet those objectives. In the case of managed commodity futures funds, though, investment companies commonly set up subsidiaries that serve as commodity pools. The crypto community also had a surge of initial excitement at the introduction of bitcoin futures. It was thought that the market could see increased liquidity from the influx of new investment. In a futures contract, two parties agree to trade a commodity at an agreed price on a future date.

What Is Futures Expiration In Crypto?

The intent behind these ETFs is to give retail and other investors exposure to cryptocurrencies without needing to own them. Cryptocurrency futures are contracts based on underlying cryptocurrency prices that allow traders access to price fluctuations without taking possession of cryptocurrencies. These futures reduce the risk of buying actual cryptocurrency because you’re buying and selling bets on what you believe their prices are going to do. Cryptocurrency options work like standard options contracts because they are a right, not an obligation, to buy cryptocurrency at a set price on a future date. In this case, the asset is represented by cryptocurrency futures contracts traded at the CME, with a single options contract equivalent to a single futures contract consisting of 5 BTC or 50 ETH. Options contracts for six consecutive months are available at a time at CME.

Bitcoin is often considered the best crypto to invest in for beginners. If you want to invest in a high-risk high-reward asset and believe in the success of the crypto market, Bitcoin might be the best investment for you. The SEC has yet to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF that invests in the cryptocurrency directly for listing on a major U.S. exchange. But those negatives are balanced by the growth of a thriving and vibrant ecosystem for crypto. The cryptocurrency market, which did not exist a decade ago, is worth about $853 billion as of December 2022.

However, as they were launched in December, a month in which trading activity is generally lower than in other months, liquidity will likely pick up in the new year. Spot trading only offers you fundamental trade orders like buying low and selling high, and you tend to make a profit during the market pump. On the other hand, trading bitcoin futures offers many benefits, including trading and accessing leverage during bull and bear markets. A futures contract is a standardized contract where two parties agree to exchange a specific quantity of a standardized asset on a specific day for a particular price.

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None of the content on CoinCentral is investment advice nor is it a replacement for advice from a certified financial planner. There are many bitcoin ETFs, including ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF), VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF), Global X Blockchain, and more. The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes online.

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Bitcoin whales, or investors who have massive holdings of the cryptocurrency, are said to control its price in the markets. The democratization of printing money through mining has been sacrificed for the efficiency of massive mining farms. Bitcoin’s technology is afflicted by scaling problems, resulting in a long history of forks and altcoins.

This means an investor can take cash rather than physical delivery of Bitcoin upon settlement of the contract. Interested investors can go through a broker, such as Forex.com, TD Ameritrade, and Interactive Brokers, to get in on the action. The two bitcoin futures contracts found on the CME and the CBOE have slightly different standardizations but trade in the same manner. The new wave of bitcoin ETFs makes it easier than ever for investors in more traditional assets, such as stocks and bonds, to dip their toes into crypto.

You can trade cryptocurrency futures options with brokers such as Interactive Brokers, Edge Clear, Ironbeam, or Tradestation. Trade popular cryptocurrencies, explore professionally managed portfolios and connect with traders. EToro currently supports the purchase and sale of several popular cryptocurrencies. It also offers stock trading and a variety of features to vastly improve the user experience.


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