Nasdaq: Majority Of Advisors Want Spot Crypto ETFs
A survey of 500 financial advisors shows slight optimism for approval this year.
New survey data from Nasdaq’s cryptocurrency research arm shows nearly three-quarters of financial advisors would use spot cryptocurrency ETFs for more exposure, but a majority don’t believe they’re coming in 2022.
Approximately 72% of financial advisors polled by Nasdaq said they would allocate more to cryptocurrency exposure if there was an ETF option, according to the survey results released Monday of 500 advisors who are currently, or are considering allocating client dollars to crypto.
Nearly 70% of respondents said they would be interested in using an index-based product for broad exposure to the crypto landscape versus 52% who are interested in using a potential actively managed fund.
However, advisors were split in their oddsmaking regarding whether the SEC will finally allow cryptocurrency to underlie an ETF this year. Overall, 38% of respondents believe an approval is likely in 2022, compared with 31% of respondents who find it unlikely; the remaining 31% are unsure.
Calls for a spot bitcoin ETF approval returned to the forefront of the industry last week after the SEC approved Teucrium’s bitcoin futures ETF filing under the Securities Act of 1933 instead of the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The three existing bitcoin futures ETFs are organized under the ’40 Act, and each of the spot bitcoin filings rejected by regulators use the ’33 Act, leading Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein to argue on Twitter that the SEC no longer has a procedural reason to deny his firm’s plans to convert its $28.1 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF.
Surveyed advisors are still allocating to crypto despite the lack of a passive product. Half of the respondents said they’re using bitcoin futures ETFs, and 86% who currently have crypto exposure in client portfolios expect to allocate more over the next 12 months.
“As demand continues to surge, advisors will be looking for an institutional solution to the crypto question that now dominates client conversations,” said Jake Rapaport, Nasdaq’s head of digital asset index research.
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