(This is a UK tax-free pension account similar to 401k) It's never been possible to buy BTC directly in a SIPP, and a couple of years ago the UK financial authorities banned retail investors from buying crypto derivatives such as ETFs like XBT Bitcoin tracker. I assume BITO and GBTC can't be puchased either. It is possible to buy MSTR, COIN and RIOT. There's also the VanEck Digital Assets ETF (DAGB), which holds these and other crypto stocks. However, none of these are actual derivatives of BTC. Has anyone found a better alternative?
As mentioned many times, the Toronto Stock Exchange has literally dozens of spot-ETFs for Bitcoin/Ethereum, and other crypto variations...
Yes but they're probably banned for UK retail investors. I do find it funny that we're not allowed to buy Bitcoin ETFs but we can still buy riskier stocks like MSTR.
I think the VanEck DAGB ETF might be the best option. At least it offers a bit of diversification compared to holding individual stocks like MSTR or COIN. Top 10 holdings: SQUARE...........................................9.44% SILVERGATE CAPITAL CORP................8.78% MICROSTRATEGY...............................6.95% COIN...............................................6.92% NORTHERN DATA AG..........................5.72% MARATHON DIGITAL..........................5.39% GALAXY DIGITAL HOLDINGS................5.36% HIVE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES......4.86% CORE SCIENTIFIC..............................4.84% BITFARM..........................................4.69% Annoying that derivatives of BTC aren't allowed buy hey ho.
In Canada a lot of seniors buy spot ETFs, which also include wrapped covered-calls so they can still collect dividends from crypto holdings in their registered accounts. It is odd to see other countries fall so far behind, since generally the US for example has always been pushing financial innovation.
I think it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction from the UK authorities to stop retail investors buying crypto derivative ETFs. No doubt they thought they were protecting people from themselves but the reality is there are a multitude of ways to blow your money in the markets. There are many things you can still put in a pension (penny stocks, leveraged ETFs, MSTR!) which are equally as risky as BTC.
Yup, pretty much the way to lose your portfolio, death by a thousand cuts (slowly). I call penny stocks crack-for-low-rollers.