Many stock-trading platforms have enabled customers to trade exchange-traded funds tied to the spot price of bitcoin this week. Some have not.
After the Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, Robinhood
Some traditional stock trading platforms including Fidelity (which has
Merrill by Bank of America will allow "eligible" clients — those with $10 million or more in assets — to trade them, according to a spokesperson for the company.
One notable exception has opted not to let customers purchase bitcoin ETFs through their platform:
"Our perspective is that these products do not align with our offer focused on asset classes such as equities, bonds, and cash, which Vanguard views as the building blocks of a well-balanced, long-term investment portfolio," a Vanguard spokesperson said, adding that the investment advisor also did not plan to offer any bitcoin ETFs or other crypto-related products of its own.
Scrutiny of the value of bitcoin and bitcoin ETFs as investments heightened after the SEC's action this week. Chair Gary Gensler emphasized in his remarks on the matter that the commission's hand had been forced by a court ruling the SEC
"Bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that's also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing," Gensler said. "While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin."
