Friday, 7 September 2018

Coinbase Weighing Whether To Develop Bitcoin ETF In Partnership With BlackRock

Coinbase is keen on creating a Bitcoin ETF so that it can provide retail investors the access to the otherwise volatile crypto market.

The Coinbase crypto exchange is weighing its options of developing a Bitcoin ETF in partnership with BlackRock, the $6 trillion asset manager. The exchange has sought help from BlackRock and is keenly looking forward to getting into a crypto exchange-traded fund off the ground.

The exchange is known for asset management, venture capital, brokerage, custody, and trading. It now intends to create an exchange-traded product tied to crypto so as to facilitate retail investors to gain access to the volatile crypto markets.

BlackRock’s blockchain working group comprises of employees across its numerous businesses. It was started in 2015 with a goal to identify applications of blockchain-related technologies in financial services.

The Coinbase exchange has held conversations recently with BlackRock’s blockchain working group pertaining to the prospect of developing a Bitcoin ETF. The exchange intends to tap into BlackRock’s expertise at launching exchange-traded products. BlackRock is well known for its iShares division.

BlackRock however, confirmed that it has no interest in being a crypto fund issuer. Larry Fink, CEO BlackRock, said that the firm’s clients are least interested in the $300 billion market for digital currencies. He further went on to comment that bitcoin is the “index of money laundering”. It is expected that if Coinbase were to develop a crypto ETF, it would be joining hands with firms which are looking to launch their own, such as VanEck, Gemini, and Bitwise Asset Management, as stated in the Business Insider report.

Some influential voices in the crypto space argue that a Bitcoin ETF will be actually bad for cryptocurrencies and bitcoin in the long term. Andreas Antonopoulos, a tech entrepreneur-turned bitcoin evangelist, warned last month stating that although he expects an ETF to be approved eventually by the SEC, it won’t be a good thing for either bitcoin or the larger cryptocurrency world, as mentioned in the Forbes report.

While Coinbase is still weighing its options of developing a Bitcoin ETF, the uncertainty surrounding these Bitcoin ETF proposals has created a lot of volatility in the crypto market. After recently peaking at a local high of $7,400, Bitcoin dropped to $6,400 24 hours later, as mentioned in the NewsBTC report. A lot of experts are expecting a nice rally if a Bitcoin ETF is indeed approved.

The post Coinbase Weighing Whether To Develop Bitcoin ETF In Partnership With BlackRock appeared first on OWLT Market.



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