机构为何更青睐比特币ETF 而非直接购买BTC？

比特币要真正被机构采用，只需引入一种风险最小化、易于使用的交易所交易基金（ETF）产品。今年1月，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）批准了9只通过现货市场投资比特币的新ETF，相较于2021年推出的期货ETF有了很大改进。在第一季度的交易中，这些ETF的机构配置规模和数量超出了预期。贝莱德的ETF创下了资产最短时间内达到100亿美元的纪录。

In January of this year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved nine new ETFs to invest in Bitcoins only through the spot market, a significant improvement over the future ETFs launched in 2021. In the first quarter of the transaction, these ETFs were configured to be larger than expected.

机构的广泛采用

is widely used by institutions

过去几年，机构投资者持有比特币会成为新闻热点，甚至影响市场。三年前，特斯拉将比特币添加到其资产负债表中，使比特币在一天内上涨了13%以上。而2024年的情况显然不同。截至周三，已有534家资产超过10亿美元的独立机构在今年第一季度开始配置比特币，包括对冲基金、养老金和保险公司等，显示出比特币被机构广泛采用。

Over the past few years, institutional investors’ possession of bitcoin has become a news flash, even affecting the market. Three years ago, Tesla added bitcoin to its balance sheet, raising bitcoin by more than 13% in one day.

为什么比特币ETF对机构如此有吸引力？

Why is Bitcoin ETF so attractive to the institution?

大型机构投资者通常行动迟缓，受传统、风险管理和监管体系的约束。养老基金更新其投资组合需要数月甚至数年的委员会会议、尽职调查和董事会批准，而这些批准往往需要多次重复。

Large institutional investors are usually slow to act and are bound by traditional, risk management and regulatory systems. The pension fund’s renewal of its portfolio takes months or even years of committee meetings, due diligence and board approvals, which often require repeated approvals.

相比之下，通过购买ETF来接触比特币则简单得多。正如Lyn Alden在TFTC播客中所说，“从开发者的角度来看，ETF基本上是法定系统的API。它只是让法定系统比以前更好地接入比特币。”

By contrast, it is much easier to contact bitcoin by purchasing ETFs. As Lyn Alden said in TFTC podcasts, "From the perspective of developers, ETFs are basically statutory APIs. It only allows the statutory system to access bitcoins better than before."

直接购买和持有比特币需要对多个交易提供商、托管人和取证服务进行全面审查，还要制定新的会计和风险管理流程。而通过ETF，机构只需购买贝莱德等公司的ETF即可轻松接触比特币。这种方式不仅省时省力，还能有效规避直接持有比特币带来的复杂性和风险。

Direct purchase and possession of bitcoin requires a thorough review of multiple transaction providers, trustees, and evidentiary services, as well as the development of new accounting and risk management processes. Through ETFs, agencies can easily access bitcoin by simply purchasing ETFs from companies like Belede.

ETF的优势与局限

ETF strengths and limitations

ETF虽然便利，但并非理想的比特币投资方式。除了管理费之外，ETF还带来许多权衡，这些权衡可能会损害比特币提供的核心价值——不会被收买的货币。尽管这些权衡超出了本文的讨论范围，但它们确实存在。

ETFs, while convenient, are not the ideal way to invest in bitcoins. In addition to management fees, ETFs carry a lot of trade-offs that could undermine the core value that Bitcoins provides – currencies that are not bought.

比特币价格为何未进一步上涨？

Why didn't the price of the bitcoin rise further?

尽管ETF的采用率很高，但比特币价格今年迄今仅上涨50%。事实上，即使有48%的顶级对冲基金配置了该基金，比特币的上涨空间仍然有限。持有这些ETF的机构的平均配置比例相对较小。在已进行配置的大型对冲基金、RIA和养老金中，加权平均配置不到资产管理总额的0.20%。即使是Millennium Management的20亿美元配置也只占其报告的13F持股的不到1%。

Despite the high rate of ETF adoption, bitcoin prices have increased by only 50% so far this year. Indeed, even if 48% of top hedge funds were allocated to the fund, bitcoin’s scope for increase remains limited. The average share of agencies holding these ETFs is relatively small.

因此，2024年第一季度被认为是机构“走出零”的时期。至于机构何时能真正大规模持有比特币，只有时间能告诉我们答案。

Thus, the first quarter of 2024 is considered a period when the institution “goes out of zero.” Only time will tell us when it will be able to hold bitcoin on a truly large scale.