What the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund means for the cryptocurrency industry

What the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund means for the cryptocurrency industry

This week marked a milestone for cryptocurrency as investors started trading the , exceeding other ETF launches, and . These funds invest in bitcoin futures contracts, or agreements to buy or sell the asset later for an agreed-upon price, rather than bitcoin directly. The new products allow trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cryptocurrency exchanges. While the new offerings fall short of what the industry eventually wants — ETFs investing in the currency itself — it didn't slow excitement for the first launch. The (ticker: BITO) saw one of the biggest first days on record for ETFs, raking in $550 million from crypto-hungry investors. Overall, more than $1.01 billion of shares changed hands, . Moreover, the price of spiked by to $64,206.51, according to Coin Metrics, and soared to an all-time high of , passing the previous intraday record of $64,899 from mid-April. "The original intent [of bitcoin], and certainly still the intent of many, was to try to upend traditional finance," said Ben Johnson, director of global ETF research for Morningstar. "Instead, traditional finance has caught bitcoin in its tractor beam, reeled it in and turned it into something that Wall Street is