Bitcoin is booming again, and for cryptocurrency true believers, it is a long-awaited sign that better times are finally at hand again.
Kenny Granzotto, who lives in Sao Paolo, had cashed out of much of his cryptocurrency holdings after prices sank during the bear market sparked by the collapse of crypto-exchange FTX and a series of federal lawsuits against some of the biggest exchanges. Now, with Bitcoin surging 159% higher than where it was at the start of the year, it is currently at $42,893, a level it has not reached since April 2022.
Granzotto, who trades in other altcoins, is now reinvesting with the lift that higher Bitcoin prices provide for them.
“I’m now slowly putting back into it again,” Granzotto said of his investments. “Its been a bear market for like the last year and a half, but I believe that the bull market is back.”
Bitcoin’s resurgence since the summer has been welcome news for investors like Granzotto, but others may be wary of getting involved with an asset that is volatile, expensive, and unregulated.
Investing in cryptocurrency as a whole also runs into a large trust deficit to overcome. In a YouGov survey from October, nearly a third of American adults said that they consider most cryptocurrency companies themselves to be scams. An earlier survey by Pew Research found that 75% of Americans said they did not feel confident about the safety of cryptocurrency.
If an investor is looking to get into Bitcoin but is self-conscious about its risks, here are three ways to invest without having to own Bitcoin itself.
Invest in stocks that are connected to Bitcoin
There are a number of publicly traded companies that can allow an investor to do this, from Bitcoin mining firms like Riot Platforms to Coinbase, the only publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange. Less obvious options include Tesla, which reported holding about $184 million worth of Bitcoin in its most recent earnings filing, or MicroStrategy, a software company that holds about $5.28 billion.
"Although you're not buying Bitcoin, they move generally in sync with Bitcoin," Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, said of Bitcoin-adjacent stocks like Coinbase. “So it's a convenient, easy way for you to have directional exposure to Bitcoin without owning Bitcoin directly."
Buying one of these stocks is a simpler process than buying Bitcoin from an exchange at its current price, and they also fall under federal securities laws, which can reduce the likelihood of an investor being the victim of fraud. At the same time, owning a stock related to Bitcoin is not a total substitute for owning the token itself, and they don’t perfectly track movements in one another’s prices.
An example of this is Coinbase, which has seen its stock soar by over 300%, more than double the growth in Bitcoin’s price, since the start of the year. Though going in similar directions, the gap between the two shows the relationship is not completely in sync, said Edelman.
The indirect exposure can provide some cushion against Bitcoin’s volatility, said Anjali Jariwala, the founder of FIT Advisors in California. Given the disconnect between these stocks and Bitcoin’s prices, she said that any place for these assets in one’s portfolio still needs to be carefully considered.
“I think the indirect exposure may be more FOMO, and people fearing they will miss out if they don't get some sort of exposure," said Jariwala. "It is better to have an approach that is disciplined and makes sense with your risk tolerance and time horizon for needing funds."
Put money in a professional fund that invests in Bitcoin
Holding and trading Bitcoin can be a complicated task because of the technicalities involved, like operating a digital wallet or opening an account with a cryptocurrency exchange. One way to get around this without losing closer exposure to Bitcoin is to invest in a managed fund.
“If someone is serious about adding Bitcoin exposure to their portfolio, then they should work with a professional to understand how much would make sense and look at private investments where they can get direct exposure," said Jariwala.
By working with a fund, it removes a lot of these complications because the fund handles those tasks. Some funds that invest in Bitcoin are the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which manages more than $26 billion in assets, and Osprey Funds.
Investing in a fund does have its additional costs, though, and the amount of initial money required to invest can vary by fund. For example, Osprey requires an accredited investor - an individual with a net worth of over $1 million and an income over $200,000 - put down $25,000 to start.
Invest in a Bitcoin futures ETF
Much of the exuberance surrounding Bitcoin lately has to do with the possible approval of an exchange traded fund in Bitcoin spot markets.
For the last decade, the SEC has rejected every application for one, but since a federal appeals court ordered the agency to take a fresh look at its arguments against a spot ETF. Expectations are high about the potential of these ETFs, which could boost Bitcoin’s price by as much as 74% next year, according to an October analysis by crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital.
Spot ETFs don’t yet exist, but ETFs in Bitcoin futures are an option for getting exposure.
Bitcoin futures are derivative contracts between two parties and involve an agreement to purchase or sell Bitcoin at a fixed price on a certain date. Like buying stocks in companies connected to cryptocurrency, no direct ownership of Bitcoin is even required here for an investor to make a profit because the investor is purchasing the underlying contract, not the asset.
The downside of Bitcoin futures products is that they are not easy to use, which can make them less appealing than the alternatives. Their complexity does not mean Bitcoin futures need to be avoided, but it does make them a harder sell than easier options, said Edelman.
"They're not a bad choice, but I don't believe they're as effective or as efficient or as simple as alternatives," said Edelman.