The new wave of US Bitcoin ETFs could be doubly harmful for investors.
As holders of Bitcoin, they undermine the fundamental purpose of the cryptocurrency, and thus its long-term value. Since the ETFs were launched at a popular moment, they repeated the mistake made by many previous thematic funds by buying at the peak.
The idea being promoted now is that Bitcoin should be digital gold, and hold its value in crises. So far there is no evidence of this. Bitcoin ETFs are likely to exacerbate their poor performance in crises, by bringing more speculators into mostly speculative assets.