Friday, Sept 29, 2023

ETFs launch, crypto liquidity continues to shrink, dogecoin, government debt and more

“Dimitri: This happens a lot. Nine times out of ten, no problem.

Howard: What happens on the tenth time?

Dimitri: Problem.”

– from ‘The Big Bang’  ||

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• The ETF drumbeat marches on

• Some crypto liquidity surprises

• Why I won’t be talking about the SBF trial

• US government borrowing

• The climbing interest burden on small-caps

WHAT I’M WATCHING:

The ETF drumbeat marches on

Ether futures ETFs are a go. Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF started buying ether futures yesterday, to start trading as a mixed asset fund today. On Tuesday, the fund’s name officially changes to the Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF, but the ticker symbol will still be BTF.

VanEck is expected to start trading with its ether futures ETF on Monday and has already started running ads for the product. The product will be called the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF, with the ticker symbol EFUT.

These are not the only two: there are at least 10 others by my last count which could scramble to launch over the coming week. Then again, this is a competitive market, the products are all similar, and the market for them is probably not huge just yet. So, some may simply withdraw.

Why is the market not likely to be huge just yet? Because sentiment is picking up, but it is far from buoyant.