The biggest cryptocurrency in the world, despite the correction at the end of December 2017, has all the chances to skyrocket in the following year. Such expectations have been expressed by several experts in the field. Interestingly, bitcoin may surge thanks to the acceptance by leading service providers and financial establishments all over the globe.
Bitcoin Adoption by Major Financial Players
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and crypto exchanges are expected to debut on several financial institutions by early 2018. Among them are the most prominent U.S. options exchange Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe), the US-based world's most extensive stock exchange by market capitalization New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the American multinational finance company Goldman Sachs, as NewsBTC report. ETFs offer a more efficient and smooth channel for private investors, whereas futures are more likely to serve giants in institutional piling and retail trading.
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Cboe
On December 10, Cboe successfully introduced bitcoin-based futures. Now this week, it has filed to list six biggest bitcoin ETF’s in the most massive American stock markets.
- First Trust Bitcoin Strategy ETF
- First Trust Inverse Bitcoin Strategy ETF
- REX Bitcoin Strategy ETF
- REX Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF
- GraniteShares Bitcoin ETF
- GraniteShares Short Bitcoin ETF
According to CNBC, Cboe is going to provide more analytical and approachable investment instruments for those investors who employ bitcoin in trading. As company’s spokesperson stated, such a decision was made due to the rise in demand for bitcoin on futures exchanges, referring to both Cboe and CME group, which launched futures contracts based on bitcoin on December 17.
“Given the success of the launch of our bitcoin futures, several partners are very interested in moving forward with the development of an exchange-traded product,” said the Cboe spokesperson.
NYSE
On its turn, NYSE also filed two bitcoin ETFs. The applications, named ProShares, were submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Earlier, the owner of NYSE and some of the other most significant futures markets worldwide, Jeff Sprecher, publicly expressed his regret concerning not creating bitcoin-based futures contracts the way his rivals at CME Group Inc., Cboe Global Markets Inc., and Nasdaq Inc. had done.
“We may be stupid for not being first on that. I don’t have the answers. I wish I knew [how the investments will evolve]. I don’t know what to make of cryptocurrencies,” said Jeff Sprecher at an investor conference sponsored by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York in early December.
Nevertheless, in the foreseeable future NYSE might introduce bitcoin futures trading platform on its own, following the debut of its ProShares bitcoin ETFs. The company, for sure, is taking into account the high trading volumes of the pioneers in bitcoin futures trading, CME, and Cboe.
Goldman Sachs
According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “is setting up a trading desk to make markets in digital currencies such as bitcoin, according to people with knowledge of the strategy. The bank aims to get the business running by the end of June, if not earlier, two of the people said. Another said it’s still trying to work out security issues as well as how it would hold, or custody, the assets.”
If Goldman Sachs indeed does it, this will position the firm to become the first big Wall Street company to make markets in cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s Skyrocketing in 2018
In several interviews, credible experts, as well as billionaire investors, expressed their belief in 2018 bitcoin’s surging. In particular, a hedge fund investor Mike Novogratz, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, and an outstanding financial analyst Max Keiser have claimed that the value of one bitcoin very probably will overcome the $40,000 margin by late 2018. Meanwhile, the total market value of all bitcoins is expected to reach a rate of $1 trillion.
