When the first Bitcoin ETF was approved in 2021, it seemed like a landmark moment for the cryptocurrency industry. Yet, no one at the time could have expected it to evolve so rapidly and in often strange ways.
The Bitcoin After Dark ETF Takes Advantage of the American Night-Time
Sharp-eyed observers have noted for some time that Bitcoin reacts strangely to the American trading hours. Some people may have thought that it was a coincidence or that they were imagining things. Yet, the recently released details of the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF confirmed that there is actually a huge difference in the price action when the markets in the US are open.
This proposed ETF will only trade during nighttime in the US, and there’s a very good reason for that. Their research showed that a night-time strategy carried out in the period since the start of 2024 would have earned 222%, while day trading during that same time would have led to losses of 40.5%. It turns out that buying and selling in the small hours has been profitable in the past, but that doesn’t mean that it will continue to be the best option.
This reminds us that not all ETFs work in the same way. In terms of BTC, some are spot funds that hold coins, while others short the price or otherwise trade BTC, rather than simply holding it. The After Dark approach would be to trade without spot exposure, meaning that they wouldn’t hold any Bitcoin at any point.
The Rise of Memecoin ETFs
After the initial excitement for the first Bitcoin ETFs, it seemed only natural that the second-biggest crypto should get its own ETFs. The introduction of Ethereum (ETH) ETFs has also been a success, leading to other tokens joining them. It’s no surprise to see the other top market caps like Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) getting ETFs, but the popularity of this approach has seen even memecoins added.
The DOJE ticker is used for the REX-Osprey DOGE ETF, which was the first US-based ETF with spot exposure to a memecoin. With numerous other memecoins featuring dogs, squirrels, and penguins, will they all eventually have their own funds? Well, the proposed Pengu ETF would hold tokens for this penguin crypto, as well as Pudgy Penguin NFTs from the same ecosystem.
It’s worth remembering that there are now many cryptos with different use cases. From DeFi to funny memes and serious DePin projects, we can no longer classify them all as being the same. Yet, one thing they all have in common is that they can be exchanged rapidly and securely on a peer-to-peer basis. This has made them a great choice for making online payments and funding crypto gambling. Tokens like BTC, ETH, and Litecoin (LTC) can all be used to add funds to a gambling account with no need to link your bank account to the casino.
This is done by choosing which cryptocurrency you want to use and entering the amount. You’ll then be given the address of the casino wallet to send it to. The processing time is generally faster than with other, more traditional banking methods. It also means that any winnings can be cashed out swiftly by sending them directly back to your own wallet. This process is designed to make it safer and smoother for you to start gambling, with a pseudonymous approach that fits a lot of people’s ideas of how to avoid online risks.
This casino bonus giveaway lets you see how to start playing without using too much of your own crypto. Name your favorite holiday movie, and you can start spinning the reels for free. Many casino platforms also offer crypto bonuses and giveaways to encourage people to try out this kind of currency.
The Vomiting Frog Issue
You might think that Vomiting Frog is the name of a particularly gruesome crypto, but it’s actually a phenomenon that has caused unexpected issues in the ETF industry. Vomiting Frog is an alternative name given to something called dust. This is when a user’s crypto wallet receives unsolicited tokens. It’s a common type of scam that lets hackers drain the wallet once the owner interacts with the dust, although there are also genuine reasons for this, like airdrops of new tokens and gifts made to high-profile wallets to gain publicity.
The problem for ETF issuers is that they can’t sell these coins or do anything with them. Researchers have tracked over $20,000 of tokens other than BTC in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF wallets, for example. These unwanted gifts can also take the shape of NFT artwork, such as frogs vomiting rainbows, but it’s not yet clear what the companies holding them can do to get rid of them.
The way that the crypto ETF scene has changed so quickly makes us believe that it’s still evolving and finding its way. Other changes are no doubt on the way that will help us view these funds in a new light and better understand their potential.