Carson Group, a $30 billion registered investment advisory firm, recently announced that it is now providing its clients exposure to spot Bitcoin for the first time. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become immensely popular even before approval from the SEC in January. These funds allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without actually owning the cryptocurrency. Based in Omaha, the firm is at the heart of Nebraska’s growing interest in digital finance, which now parallels the rise of Nebraska sports betting and other modern investment trends.
Of the 10 ETFs that are now live in the US, Carson has gone for four ETF offerings, with a particular focus on the considerable asset holdings and cost-efficiency of these ETFs.
Carson Group Adds Bitcoin Exposure To $30 Billion Portfolio
According to a disclosure by Bloomberg, the Omaha Nebraska-based investment firm has now joined the cohort of traditional investment firms making Bitcoin mainstream. The four ETFs the firm went for are the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), and Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC).
Grant Engelbart, the vice president and investment strategist at Carson Group noted the company’s pincer approach of choosing the four ETFs. Engelbart noted that the IBIT and FBTC were selected because the company prioritized “significant asset growth” and trading volume when making its selection. Not surprisingly, IBIT and FBTC currently lead the market in daily inflows and trading volume.
“We feel it is important to offer these products as a result from two of the largest asset managers in the industry,” Engelbart said.
Carson also looked at cost-effective properties when making its selection. As a result, the company also went for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and Franklin Bitcoin ETF despite both ETFs seeing much less inflow. BITB and EZBC charge very competitive fees of 0.2% and 0.19% respectively, the smallest in the industry.
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $51.630. Chart: TradingView.com
“Bitwise and Franklin Templeton have committed to being the lowest-cost providers in the space, and have also seen large inflows and trading volumes,” Engelbart noted.
What Does This Mean For Bitcoin?
Carson’s investment in Bitcoin ETFs relays the growing adoption among traditional investors, putting Bitcoin further on the map of mainstream adoption. This has come amidst rejections from other investment firms like Vanguard who have taken a firm stand on not providing its clients with Bitcoin ETFs or other cryptocurrency-related products.
On the other hand, spot Bitcoin ETFs have continued to attract huge trading volumes and rapid growth in assets under management. Spot Bitcoin ETF cumulative trading volume reached $50 billion last week, ending Friday with $232.3 million of net inflow.
At the time of writing, the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has over $6.64 billion in asset, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $4.73 billion, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) with $1.1 billion worth of assets. The Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) is on the lower end of $100 million in assets.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
