CNBC’s Jim Cramer explained on Wednesday what the SEC’s decision to approve exchange-traded bitcoin products in the United States means for investors.
Cramer said he is not necessarily against investing in Bitcoin, but he warned investors to know the risks before buying.
“I’m taking a page from Jamie Dimon here — this is a buyer beware situation,” he said, referring to the JPMorgan CEO and a Bitcoin skeptic. “You can decide what to do with these Bitcoin spot ETFs, I just want to make sure you know exactly what you might be putting your money into and how little money has been spent in that money versus how much Bitcoin will go up.”
Exchange-traded products include many investment vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded securities. The SEC’s move will give everyday investors more access to cryptocurrencies — a notoriously unregulated asset — and may help it earn its place in mainstream finance.
Cramer stressed that SEC approval does not mean the organization endorses these products. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has spoken out against cryptocurrencies in the past, and the agency rejected more than 20 applications for Bitcoin exchange-traded products from 2018 to 2023.
“Now, having said that, I’m not as anti-these new investment vehicles as Gary Gensler,” Cramer said. “At this point, Bitcoin has been around for 15 years, and it’s fairly well-established, and I don’t want to try to stop anyone from speculating in these things, as long as they’re doing their research. Of course, I’m not. I’m pretty sure what your research will be.” “But that’s not my problem.”