ETF

Murky_Entertainer378

Y’all just buy the ETF

ElderMight

For the average user I think I would tell them to buy the ETF. For above average user, open source bitcoin only hardware with BIP-39 support, ordered anonymously. Generate seed with dice rolls + paraphrase backed up on paper or steel. For technical or above average that's interested, seedsigner.

Lavayo

Me too. I started in 24 after the ETF run so I'm slightly in loss with BTC ATM because I always kept my DCA. Alts... let's not talk about it. Luckily I always preferred BTC, also back then. My allocation to BTC went from 75% to >95% without selling anything ever. Most my alts are Sol and Eth and it simply does not make sense to sell them now. Use potential wins to DCA BTC in the next bear.

DifficultSquash1517

Four letters: ETF

devCheckingIn

Folks went on an ETF buying spree yesterday.

MarioWilson122

Crypto is not dying, but AI and computer chips took a lot of the attention and speculative money that crypto once received. Those companies also have real demand, revenue, and heavy private investment behind them, while crypto still depends much more on liquidity, hype, and investor confidence. The weakness is not simply because Trump refused to have the government invest. His administration created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but it was mainly funded with government-owned forfeited Bitcoin. Any additional purchases were required to be budget neutral, so the market never received the huge government buying program some investors expected. Trump has been broadly pro-crypto on regulation, but some of his wider economic moves have still hurt risk assets. Crypto has been hit especially hard by weaker risk appetite, ETF outflows, leverage getting wiped out, and a lack of demand for most altcoins. AI and chips were better able to hold attention because their growth was supported by actual business spending. There is no reliable way to say when the next bull run will begin. Bitcoin can recover if liquidity and institutional demand return, but many altcoins may never revisit their old highs. A winter rally is possible, but I would not assume one is coming just because the market has already fallen so much.

sylsau

Someone just declared **Bitcoin at $1 million “mathematically impossible.”** The argument sounds devastating: **Bitcoin at $1M ≈ $20 trillion market cap.** Therefore, Bitcoin supposedly needs roughly **$15 trillion of new money** to get there. Except… **That’s not how markets work.** A $15T increase in market cap does **not** require $15T of cash inflows. Market cap is: **Price × Supply.** And price is determined by the **marginal Bitcoin being sold**. If available supply becomes scarce while demand accelerates, a relatively small amount of new capital can reprice the entire network dramatically higher. That’s why: → Market cap ≠ money invested → Liquidity matters more than headline supply → Dormant BTC doesn’t need to be “bought again” → ETF flows can move a trillion-dollar asset with comparatively tiny capital → A supply squeeze can create enormous nonlinear price moves **Does that mean Bitcoin WILL hit $1M by 2030?** No. It would require an extraordinary transformation in global adoption, liquidity, institutional allocation, and monetary conditions. But **“unlikely” and “mathematically impossible” are two very different claims.** Bitcoin at $1M isn't really a $15 trillion cash problem. It’s a **liquidity problem.** And if buyers ever discover that there are far fewer willing sellers than they expected… the market will do the math for us.

sylsau

Someone just declared **Bitcoin at $1 million “mathematically impossible.”** The argument sounds devastating: **Bitcoin at $1M ≈ $20 trillion market cap.** Therefore, Bitcoin supposedly needs roughly **$15 trillion of new money** to get there. Except… **That’s not how markets work.** A $15T increase in market cap does **not** require $15T of cash inflows. Market cap is: **Price × Supply.** And price is determined by the **marginal Bitcoin being sold**. If available supply becomes scarce while demand accelerates, a relatively small amount of new capital can reprice the entire network dramatically higher. That’s why: → Market cap ≠ money invested → Liquidity matters more than headline supply → Dormant BTC doesn’t need to be “bought again” → ETF flows can move a trillion-dollar asset with comparatively tiny capital → A supply squeeze can create enormous nonlinear price moves **Does that mean Bitcoin WILL hit $1M by 2030?** No. It would require an extraordinary transformation in global adoption, liquidity, institutional allocation, and monetary conditions. But **“unlikely” and “mathematically impossible” are two very different claims.** Bitcoin at $1M isn't really a $15 trillion cash problem. It’s a **liquidity problem.** And if buyers ever discover that there are far fewer willing sellers than they expected… the market will do the math for us.

rgnet1

It's true. But nothing can be done about that. There will never be a global regulatory clampdown on paper bitcoin or any other paper asset / derivative. But the underlying asset of bitcoin still exists and still ultimately is the seed driver of the price in all derivative markets. On the utility side, those who do actually want to transact in bitcoin -- one day, I dream I can directly purchase a house or car from a seller without the bullshit of moving large amounts of money through banks / escrow / middlemen fee takers -- will never transact in ETF shares of bitcoin.

drobb778

Today I said how brutal this is on a youtube channel and that it might be what convinces me to just use ETF's (i know it's blasphemy) and he said lol you will be defeating the point of owning bitcoin. Does LOL suit how you feel about your situation? I mean, some people lost over a million dollars but I'm very sorry for this happening to you. Very sorry.

RiceRevolutionary712

Where do you have the ETF number from? [https://www.theblock.co/data/etfs/bitcoin-etf/spot-bitcoin-etf-onchain-holdings](https://www.theblock.co/data/etfs/bitcoin-etf/spot-bitcoin-etf-onchain-holdings) Here it says that 1.86m btc are being hold in etf.

Efficient_Range1156

Exactly, everyone is waiting for something to happen but the market has changed. The highs are lower the lows are higher. Waiting for an arbitrary point in time just because it’s a terrible idea. It’s not the Wild West any more, it’s just entities steadily accumulating and leaving everyone else behind. lol at the ETF inflow chart, if the bitcoin chart looked like that we’d be at 90k. The bitcoin chart reflects the impact of the 4 year cycle theory but smart money DGAF about that.

Objective-Walk6780

bitcoin ETFs are backed by actual bitcoin. That’s why prices go up when institutions buy ETF

unshak3n

Forget companies and cold wallets. Go ETF or let it in Coinbase. Search for "coldcard 2026" if you have doubts.

Mattie_Kadlec

It's a good analysis but I feel like it all comes down to ETF inflows versus the OTC miner selloffs right now

FewUnderstanding2214

If you don’t believe in it, then sell it - you would’ve done better just holding an ETF

SmoothAsSilk_23

Stacking Bitcoin ETF instead. Screw self-custody. Yes, I feel like a sellout but I can't trust anyone now.

Htroll

Already started with chip stocks like ASML, Intel and AMD. Not sure about TSMC. But I plan to hold 4+ years before selling. Intel is building new factories to rent to other companies who wish to produce their own chips. Apple already made a deal with them for that. Nvidia is practically an ETF with all the stocks they buy.

Practical_Mango7633

They do not own Bitcoin. However if your granny and daddy is into speculating in things they do not understand they should buy a Bitcoin ETF. Anyone able to understand Bitcoin is able to understand how to use a hardware wallet as well. And I actually bet both my granny and dad would be able to use a hardware wallet. Buy a Ledger Nano X or Trezor Safe 5 and the setup guide is so straight forward: "Press left button, now right button, now type in a pin code. Well done, now get a biscuit and pat yourself on the back" The devices has two buttons, and a screen that's it.

AEON782

Although I agree a certain element is lost with bitcoin being indoctrinated by the suits, I do think it's just part of it's life cycle if it's to be used as a predominant store of value. ETF' & Regulation allow a new wave of capital to be unlocked and act as a structural bid over the next decade we wouldn't of had otherwise... same thing happened with gold. And at the end of the day we are all here to see number go up so need new ways of unlocking demand into the future. But for the most part outsized gains for BTC are behind us, we've lost the cypherpunk libertarian feeling of re calibrating the system. There is a massive gap in the market for a crypto to take share again. I agree it's never been a more exciting time to be in crypto if you can find the right assets. Persist forever Aeon

Ill-Party8305

Bitcoin ETF exist

BigvalBROski

Use a passphrase or just buy the ETF

FTFOatl

Bitcoin ETF hodlers are welcome right? Right???

EmptyBee23

ETF

GettingFasterDude

Same. I finally settled on this: approximately 1/3 in an ETF (FBTC in 401K), 2/3 on Fidelity crypto and 1% on my own cold wallet to keep up the self custody skill in case I need to exit the traditional financial system and take full custody at some point in the future.

jaxxon

No chance. Huge financial institutions are all-in. I was on Fidelity.com the other day and on their home page (logged in), they show key numbers like the price of oil, the price of gold, and... the price of bitcoin. Their FBTC ETF is super popular. The powers that be won't let BTC die. I can't speak for memecoins/shitcoins/etc.

DifficultSquash1517

Probably because he owns the BTC ETF 🤷 Or maybe he wants to warn others the dangers of self-custody 🤷

WorkerPlayful4192

What is BTC if is not investment tool, like stocks, ETF-s, bonds and etc. Definitely is not currency to buy stuff.

NinjaTabby

For most people who just want exposure to the price. ETF is even better.

moonkingdome

Reverse cramer etf Nohhh the actual SJIM ETF is not up because it no longer exists. But Simulated models tracked show that the "Inverse Cramer" strategy skyrocketed by 158% since inception, beating the S&P 500’s 68% gain in that same timeframe. Lol NOW thats amazing I guesse thats why they killed it

Turbulent_Deal_3145

My hot take is I have all my bitcoin on Wealthsimple (Canadian QuestTrade) in the form of an ETF, because the chances of that platform going belly up are far, far lower than the chances of me losing a cold wallet or seed phrase

Charge36

This is why I'm perfectly happy with my net worth in stocks, bonds, and ETF

Puzzleheaded-Dot-762

I'm sure people told him to buy a hardware wallet after the FTX fiasco. If he starts buying ETF, I'm selling my IBITs. 

Signal-Fig-2952

This is a deeply unpopular opinion in the bitcoin self-custody world, until someone loses everything because their single sig seed gets hacked. Custody with a large regulated company like Coinbase or Bitcoin ETFs are safer for the vast majority of people. This shouldn’t be shamed — self custody folks should continue to do so, but welcome Coinbase, Robinhood, and ETF investors who will all help increase the value of BTC in the long term.

TheOnlyVibemaster

May wanna just buy an ETF man

Affectionate_Act3731

Maybe not SP500, but a World ETF

Makunouchiipp0

Most should use an ETF

Fair_Vermicelli_727

Buy and hold an ETF and stop with this nonsense....

AutoModerator

Post is by: parlay_scientist and the url/text [ ](https://goo.gl/GP6ppk)is: /r/CryptoMarkets/comments/1vpj60w/serious_question_does_anyone_else_check/ I realized recently that I don't even watch the news or read X to find out what's happening in the world anymore. I just open the markets. News anchors lie, journalists have biases, and X is just engagement farming. But the order book doesn't lie. If I want to know the actual probability of a political event, a court case, or an ETF approval, I just look at where people are putting their actual money. Has anyone else completely replaced their news consumption with prediction market odds? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CryptoMarkets) if you have any questions or concerns.*

snek-jazz

> big money in the BTC bank scene/ETF have no idea what a ColdCard is No punctuation needed, the sentence was clear.

Any_Way_5245

Saylor is really good at PR control and big money in the BTC bank scene/ETF have no idea what a ColdCard is lol

Any_Way_5245

Ask any of the ETF people what a ColdCard is. No idea what it even is.

BigvalBROski

Use a passphrase or buy the ETF….. anyone who says different doesn’t have a clue…

Remarkable_Wish_5106

A financial advisor buying a BTC ETF for a client is not institutional money, that's still retail. Institutional money does not own crypto assets. Please show me what Blackrock or any other big money management allocating to crypto?

KateR_H0l1day

It’s really positive that grandpa has been studying the market, and things that could and do effect Crypto. The fact that his initial conclusion highlights the resilience of BTC, even in the middle of the bear market and significant influences is very promising. His ultimate and final conclusion will result in his recognition that BTC is a solid buy, with little downside from here. Plus the fact that TradFi is overheating, and a potential downside from here is a real possibility. Will also funnel his movement from TradFi into Crypto, particularly BTC in the 2nd half of 2026. I’m a grandma, and that’s exactly the conclusion I got to a short time ago! Those records being hit on the S&P500 over the last month have seen me selling and buying more CRYPTO based ETF’s. Additionally, this month has seen me change the staking rewards from reinvesting/compounding said Alt; to having the Alt rewards in BTC. It’s not much, but it’s a start, the stars are aligning slowly. So, in reality, it’s a positive post, and just one you have to understand where the breadcrumbs are pointing in this game we’re all playing. 🤷‍♀️

Tostonn

Look up Stonkbrokers on Robinhood chain. New NFT tech that could possibly lead the something. Lowkey close to an ETF and I feel like maybe in some legal gray area but they are popping off rn

AidenTai

Bitcoin is trading with low volume as is negative on all the major timeframes. If you look at prediction markets and open interest almost every indicator is we will at minimum revisit the bottom and most likely break it by 3–15% with the middle of that range being favoured. You can't really predict like this with precision, but between historically weak Septembers, current low volume, current structural weakness, low ETF flows / outflows, sell pressure whenever we break 65... None of that points to recovery soon. Instead we probably have a couple months of weakness during which we'll have opportunities to slip lower and see how low we can push it. It's anyone's guess what the bottom will actually be though.

Remarkable_Wish_5106

Wall Street isn't buying BTC. The ETF's are mainly retail and hedge funds for trading.

LargeSnorlax

Ok, so, if you're asking for real advice, there are three answers: **The easy, sensible answer - Answer 1:** Sell your crypto, get the fuck out of the the space, and either get crypto custodial in an ETF or don't get involved in it at all ever again. If you don't want to do any security checks or properly manage your money like a bank would, you **will** end up losing all your money one way or another, either from laziness, inattentiveness or simply lack of knowledge. If this sounds like you, sell it all and never look back. **The "it's really not that hard" answer - Answer 2:** Go buy a Trezor, put your crypto on it and never use it again until you want to add to it or sell it. **The paranoid crypto rabbit hole - Answer 3:** You've chosen the hard path. Being your own bank LITERALLY means being your own bank, which means you have to do everything a bank does. Security, protection, proper storage, proper backups. You are literally the only barrier between yourself and a criminal wanting to take your money, and in the world of today, everyone wants it. So what do you do? - Your computer and every device you have is now an attack vector. Act like it. Install adblockers and browsers that make sure every move you make online is safe. Get a password manager and rotate passwords often. - Assemble a new computer, from parts you got yourself. This is the only way you will access crypto from now on, and there will be no web browsing, no installing games, mods, or files on it. Hot wallets have their seeds written on paper or stamped, and nothing EVER touches this computer in terms of your passwords or phrases. No copy paste, no files on the desktop, no phrases in your emails. Nothing. On paper, secured in a separate location, or something like putting the mnemonic in a favourite book of yours that only you know about and will never forget, or whatever works for you. - Websites are access from their pages only. No clicking on google links unless you vet it. No wallets on browsers. No clicking links on webpages, especially from browsers with wallets. No addons. No downloads. Your crypto computer stays entirely clean. - Buy a wallet under a pseudonym and substitute address, it will be linked at some point. Set it up and don't ever use that. If you want to make transactions / trade / do liquid staking / whatever make hot wallets and follow these same procedures. Nothing connected. Nothing together. - Make paper backups of everything you have and move them places you trust. Nothing in your house. If you get wrench attacked you don't want to lose all your money and you don't want to be tempted to say where anything is. The probability of it happening is basically negative but that doesn't mean its impossible. Where you put them is up to you. Being your own bank is a hard warning, you literally have to do everything a bank does to keep your money safe. A bank has hundreds or thousands of employees for a reason, and that's you now. You're thousands of employees, and you're the only thing standing between you losing 100% of your money and everyone who wants it. Take it serious.

ubermensch1001

Honestly, man, this last cycle was pretty boring and there was barely any euphoria, little retail interest, etc. You could chalk up a lot of this to tight monetary policy, but I think in an environment that was frothier we easily would have been at 150k+. RSI peaked with the ETF hype in Q1 of 2024. We had a nice pump after the '24 election where alts ran pretty hard but after that and going into 2025 the market slowly fizzled away. BTC did set a new all time high last October, barely, but no one gave a damn. In contrast, now we are seeing loosening monetary policy and the right setup for something more akin to 2021. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see BTC at 250k+ as we go into 2028 and I also think that the alt season that we never got this last cycle will come into full swing and make up for what we missed.

crooks4hire

We can both occupy the middle ground 😁 You’re right too, wars are definitely fought with money long before they’re fought with guns. There’s a LOT of new blood moving into bitcoin, and many people view it as a safe haven rather than a tool. They’re understandably scared and just want their money to maintain its value over time. ETF’s, exchanges, etc are a decent enough avenue for that; but folks need to be aware that they’re still at undefinable risk when taking those routes due to the trust necessary to use them.

Itslotanna

I trade ETF flows, and right now data is pointing towards 71k target price. In case it's something you wanna watch for.

TheresNoSecondBest

Congrats on the move, it's never too late, [despite new people thinking otherwise](https://old.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/rskpuf/i_have_only_600_bitcoinsi_missed_the_bus/). ONLY INVEST MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. Invest in your knowledge, learn about Bitcoin as much as you can. The Bitcoin Standard book is a must read. So is Broken Money by Lyn Alden. Also, **don't reply any DMs**, emails, private messages on other social media, promising to buy Bitcoin from them or get rich quick by investing into some website. They all are scammers. Even the hot Asian chick, he's a scammer too. **Price wise, nobody knows what the price will be tomorrow, next week or at the end of the year.** **Try "Bitcoin ONLY" strategy for at least the first 210,000 block cycle**, you'll sleep much better. Newcomers lose so much money, holding tokens just because someone on YT told them to. If you don't like losing money in [failed coins](https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/how-many-cryptocurrencies-failed), avoid. DCA is probably the best approach. Once a week works best for me, but I'm getting paid weekly. This [DCA calculator](https://21vox.com/dca-calculator) might help to decide what will work best for you. In a few years, even $10 dollars a month can make a massive difference. This [DCA blog](https://er-bybitcoin.com/) is pretty interesting too and compares buying bitcoin VS stocks. Now, don't buy some fake bitcoin at a spot ETF place or similar, **get the real thing** that you can withdraw anytime you want. Register at a proper exchange and buy real Bitcoin. Any of these will do [https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin](https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin) Install (or buy - in case you're getting Bitcoin in Thousands of $) one or more of these wallets. **Good wallet choices:** [https://blockstream.com/app/](https://blockstream.com/app/) \- Top Security Features, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://bluewallet.io](https://bluewallet.io/) \- excellent, easy to use wallet, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://www.sparrowwallet.com](https://www.sparrowwallet.com) - top desktop wallet [https://electrum.org](https://electrum.org/) \- Solid choice, Open Source and Non-Custodial, one of the oldest and most trusted Bitcoin Wallets. I prefer the desktop version but it works on mobile too. **Lightning wallets** to consider (cheaper and faster transactions, great for small amounts): [https://phoenix.acinq.co/](https://phoenix.acinq.co/) \- Phoenix - very good wallet, uses Tor for extra privacy, easy for anyone new [https://blixtwallet.github.io/](https://blixtwallet.github.io/) \- Blixt - great UI, fast and clean. The app runs a full LND node on your phone and you have the ability to easily open channels to whatever nodes you like. [https://zeusln.com/](https://zeusln.com/) Zeus - impressive wallet with many features, can even generate Nostr keys [https://breez.technology](https://breez.technology/) \- Breez - excellent POS for small business owners as well as integrated Bitrefill Note: Breez does also a hybrid liquid/LN wallet called Misty Breez - the sats being on liquid means no need for channels although the payments take a few extra seconds. You'll also can get a free customable LN address. While talking about hybrid wallets, there's also Aqua Wallet although not IMHO as good as Misty Breez. There are also custodial LN wallet but I would honestly avoid using them because you have to trust the wallet operator not to steal your money. Their only advantage is that they are incredibly easy to use, although it might cost you big one day. To keep up to date with spending wallets, visit r/TheLightningNetwork at least once a while and perhaps r/RGB in the future. **Hardware Wallets** (to store larger amounts): [Trezor](https://trezor.io/) \- Easy to use, no matter how new in Bitcoin you're. If you can afford it, opt for Safe 7 (**air-gapped**) and use the Bitcoin only firmware as it's safer than a multi coin software. [BitBox02](https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/bitcoin-only/) - another great little device, opt for the more secure Bitcoin ONLY version (less coins = less code = less chance for a hidden bug or a backdoor). Sadly, this device is **not air-gapped**. [Jade](https://blockstream.com/jade) - air gapped, fully open source, Bitcoin only, great features. There's a newer version called Jade Plus, it has much better camera and overall is a better build. I would go stateless instead of using their servers. You can even [build it on your own](https://github.com/Blockstream/jade/), if you feel adventurous. [Seedsigner](https://github.com/SeedSigner/seedsigner) - another DIY, fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, not for you if you're just starting up but something to consider later. [Krux wallet](https://selfcustody.github.io/krux/) - one more DIY hardware device, I love this one for many reasons. Similar to Seedsigner, it's fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, that is not for you right now if you're just starting up, but something to consider at a later stage and/or to up the security of your bitcoin. There's also Ledger, but I wouldn't recommend it as it's not fully open source, keep and already leaked customers' details, recently said they're capable of sending customers' keys out just with a firmware update, making is an expensive hot wallet. The opposite of what you want from a cold wallet. **Stay away**, save yourself a headache in the future. The same goes for many other hardware wallets that are too new or filled with too much of unnecessary shitcoin code. Stay away. There's also ColdCard, great features but recently had a massive duckup, I would wait until all of their code is fully open source, preferably rewritten by the community before touching it. Whatever wallet you'll decide to buy, purchase DIRECTLY from the manufacturer, no eBay, no Amazon. Make sure the device is NOT preset, and you will generate your own seed words. Write them down on any piece of paper as well as the receiving address. Now wipe the wallet and generate a new wallet. If the seed words are different from the first set, you're safe to use it. Find an option to set a passphrase and use it. This will boost the security to another level. Never store the seed words and passphrase together. Use a different medium if possible. If somebody finds both, they'll be able to steal your coin. This little device will hold the keys to your money, that's the reason why you have to be a bit more careful. Also, no worries, if it breaks, you can replace it - as long as you keep your seed words and passphrase(s) safe. Welcome to the rabbit hole and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions anytime during your Bitcoin journey. Also, [check the sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/about) that's filled with lots of great info and if you have any questions, visit r/BitcoinBeginners or r/Bitcoin and look for the answers.

Itslotanna

My ETF flows strategy says 72k by next week!

SkidMarkShark

Self-custody spreads ownership and removes counterparty risk, making the system more resilient and aligned with Bitcoin’s design as permissionless money without trusted intermediaries. Centralized ETFs and exchanges concentrate coins under a few custodians. That adds systemic risks from failure, seizure, or regulation, weakening the network’s antifragility even though the protocol and hashrate themselves remain unchanged. Putting capital into [$MSTR](https://x.com/search?q=%24MSTR&src=cashtag_click) (and ETF products) funds BTC purchases held with a few institutional custodians rather than individual self-custody. That concentrates counterparty, corporate, and regulatory risks instead of spreading ownership, reducing the network’s antifragility the same way ETFs and exchanges do—even as it supports demand and accumulation.

stanley_fatmax

Apparently this is hard for many people, but I agree. An old laptop with the wireless chipset taken out, Linux, Electrum, a watch-only wallet on your main PC to receive, create, and broadcast transactions. If it's too difficult, you may be better off just using an ETF or custodian. Being your own bank isn't designed to be easy, it's designed to be secure.

unshak3n

Just buy the ETF or let it in Coinbase. Peace and security.

HedgehogGlad9505

Banks costs money. We already have ETF, which is basically an IOU, with zero guarantee of loss from hacking, and costs 0.25% per year. For any possible retail bank, I doubt we'll get a better deal than that.

Suspicious-Holiday42

Isn't that exactly what blackrock is offering, you send them your BTC and they give you the ETF

DyehuthyTV

The 4-year cycle of Bitcoin doesn't depends on TradFi institutions adoption, like Blackrock (*2024 ETF launch*) If they fail, Bitcoin is a more mature asset today than it was five years ago. There will be some volatility, as usual, in the short run when a "big holder of Bitcoin collapse," but it will continue, because it did so at an early age by surviving to a crypto-exchange closures. Bitcoin is more resilient today :D

DyehuthyTV

But that doesn’t solve the 'risk of losing your Bitcoins' An ETF is managed by a third-party entity (*asset management companies*) if they go bankrupt or their ETF no longer has the custody of that Bitcoin (*e.g are hacked*) or they do bad things with it (e.g FTX) investors in these instruments may also lose all their Bitcoins. S,o there is no method or way to custody Bitcoin at zero risk.

ihavenotimeforgames2

Wish there was an option to convert BTC to an ETF so you don't have to deal with the bullshit of cold storage.

Current_Bobcat_9182

I think ETFs have changed the game for crypto . While a Spot ETF itself cannot print "paper Bitcoin," derivatives built on top of those ETFs (options, leveraged funds, and swaps) do introduce paper leverage that significantly alters how Bitcoin price discovery happens.

BigvalBROski

Use a paraphrase or just buy the ETF.

NorthHaverbrookNate

Tldr at bottom, my middle school English teacher once said I was "too wordy", and she was right. As in what do I think about where BTC and crypto generally are in the lifecycle, or something else? I think it's hard to say for certain whether something novel like a decentralized and globally available currency is early or not, and harder still for me than people here or in related subs. I have been looking at crypto from a social sciences standpoint rather than tech, and it's quite possible the tech is not yet been appreciated or applied in a way that will bring crypto into maturity. I think about the gap between the invention of the metal food can and can opener a bit in relation to this, something that has a lot of utility but the tools to make it accessible to the broader public didn't exist. It seems possible that crypto has not had that (things like Trezor/Ledger and Binance/Coinbase seem to move things in that direction, but not enough if the broader plan is a decentralized and practical currency for general consumptive purposes. Personally, just opinion and not opinion based on data but more feel and conversations with folks in, to use the parlance of the late 90s/early 00s scifi action series The Matrix, the real, I think crypto is no longer early and the general share of the public with active participation (the not your keys/not your coins and longtime exchange trader groups, rather than loose ETF holders at Schwab who have it as novelty relative to the rest of their portfolios) is probably about at the largest share it will be. Again, this is not based on anything rigorous, except maybe some observations about the number of active wallets over time, but I just don't see many people talking about crypto in real life and those I do tend to be pretty skeptical. As a caveat, most folks I talked to fall into three broad camps - my coworkers who work in Democratic (the American political party) campaigning, generally conservative (again, American political sense) guys (mostly men) in places like gun ranges, tobacco shops, etc, and people in the service industry, mostly bartenders, front of house staff at restaurants, and a couple people in security. Disclosure - for my last I only hold a small amount of BTC and a bit less of some alts (we're talking real small, I think the current value collectively is ~$80) Tldr I don't think it's early, and while I think it's likely the "peak" (adoption, not pricing) has passed I don't know what I don't know, and I don't know for sure if the use case has not been demonstrated yet.

No-Average3202

Went through something similar with self custody a while back, and around the time IBIT launched I moved everything over to the ETF instead. Honestly glad I made that switch, because if I got an email like this today about my physical address getting leaked, with my anxiety I'd probably be a wreck for days. Hope everyone affected stays safe, that kind of exposure is no joke.

BigvalBROski

Use a passphrase or just buy the ETF

TheresNoSecondBest

Congrats on the move, it's never too late, [despite new people thinking otherwise](https://old.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/rskpuf/i_have_only_600_bitcoinsi_missed_the_bus/). ONLY INVEST MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. Invest in your knowledge, learn about Bitcoin as much as you can. The Bitcoin Standard book is a must read. So is Broken Money by Lyn Alden. Also, **don't reply any DMs**, emails, private messages on other social media, promising to buy Bitcoin from them or get rich quick by investing into some website. They all are scammers. Even the hot Asian chick, he's a scammer too. **Price wise, nobody knows what the price will be tomorrow, next week or at the end of the year.** **Try "Bitcoin ONLY" strategy for at least the first 210,000 block cycle**, you'll sleep much better. Newcomers lose so much money, holding tokens just because someone on YT told them to. If you don't like losing money in [failed coins](https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/how-many-cryptocurrencies-failed), avoid. DCA is probably the best approach. Once a week works best for me, but I'm getting paid weekly. This [DCA calculator](https://21vox.com/dca-calculator) might help to decide what will work best for you. In a few years, even $10 dollars a month can make a massive difference. This [DCA blog](https://er-bybitcoin.com/) is pretty interesting too and compares buying bitcoin VS stocks. Now, don't buy some fake bitcoin at a spot ETF place or similar, **get the real thing** that you can withdraw anytime you want. Register at a proper exchange and buy real Bitcoin. Any of these will do [https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin](https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin) Install (or buy - in case you're getting Bitcoin in Thousands of $) one or more of these wallets. **Good wallet choices:** [https://blockstream.com/app/](https://blockstream.com/app/) \- Top Security Features, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://bluewallet.io](https://bluewallet.io/) \- excellent, easy to use wallet, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://www.sparrowwallet.com](https://www.sparrowwallet.com) - top desktop wallet [https://electrum.org](https://electrum.org/) \- Solid choice, Open Source and Non-Custodial, one of the oldest and most trusted Bitcoin Wallets. I prefer the desktop version but it works on mobile too. **Lightning wallets** to consider (cheaper and faster transactions, great for small amounts): [https://phoenix.acinq.co/](https://phoenix.acinq.co/) \- Phoenix - very good wallet, uses Tor for extra privacy, easy for anyone new [https://blixtwallet.github.io/](https://blixtwallet.github.io/) \- Blixt - great UI, fast and clean. The app runs a full LND node on your phone and you have the ability to easily open channels to whatever nodes you like. [https://zeusln.com/](https://zeusln.com/) Zeus - impressive wallet with many features, can even generate Nostr keys [https://breez.technology](https://breez.technology/) \- Breez - excellent POS for small business owners as well as integrated Bitrefill Note: Breez does also a hybrid liquid/LN wallet called Misty Breez - the sats being on liquid means no need for channels although the payments take a few extra seconds. You'll also can get a free customable LN address. While talking about hybrid wallets, there's also Aqua Wallet although not IMHO as good as Misty Breez. There are also custodial LN wallet but I would honestly avoid using them because you have to trust the wallet operator not to steal your money. Their only advantage is that they are incredibly easy to use, although it might cost you big one day. To keep up to date with spending wallets, visit r/TheLightningNetwork at least once a while and perhaps r/RGB in the future. **Hardware Wallets** (to store larger amounts): [Trezor](https://trezor.io/) \- Easy to use, no matter how new in Bitcoin you're. If you can afford it, opt for Safe 7 (**air-gapped**) and use the Bitcoin only firmware as it's safer than a multi coin software. [BitBox02](https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/bitcoin-only/) - another great little device, opt for the more secure Bitcoin ONLY version (less coins = less code = less chance for a hidden bug or a backdoor). Sadly, this device is **not air-gapped**. [Jade](https://blockstream.com/jade) - air gapped, fully open source, Bitcoin only, great features. There's a newer version called Jade Plus, it has much better camera and overall is a better build. I would go stateless instead of using their servers. You can even [build it on your own](https://github.com/Blockstream/jade/), if you feel adventurous. [Seedsigner](https://github.com/SeedSigner/seedsigner) - another DIY, fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, not for you if you're just starting up but something to consider later. [Krux wallet](https://selfcustody.github.io/krux/) - one more DIY hardware device, I love this one for many reasons. Similar to Seedsigner, it's fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, that is not for you right now if you're just starting up, but something to consider at a later stage and/or to up the security of your bitcoin. There's also Ledger, but I wouldn't recommend it as it's not fully open source, keep and already leaked customers' details, recently said they're capable of sending customers' keys out just with a firmware update, making is an expensive hot wallet. The opposite of what you want from a cold wallet. **Stay away**, save yourself a headache in the future. The same goes for many other hardware wallets that are too new or filled with too much of unnecessary shitcoin code. Stay away. There's also ColdCard, great features but recently had a massive duckup, I would wait until all of their code is fully open source, preferably rewritten by the community before touching it. Whatever wallet you'll decide to buy, purchase DIRECTLY from the manufacturer, no eBay, no Amazon. Make sure the device is NOT preset, and you will generate your own seed words. Write them down on any piece of paper as well as the receiving address. Now wipe the wallet and generate a new wallet. If the seed words are different from the first set, you're safe to use it. Find an option to set a passphrase and use it. This will boost the security to another level. Never store the seed words and passphrase together. Use a different medium if possible. If somebody finds both, they'll be able to steal your coin. This little device will hold the keys to your money, that's the reason why you have to be a bit more careful. Also, no worries, if it breaks, you can replace it - as long as you keep your seed words and passphrase(s) safe. Welcome to the rabbit hole and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions anytime during your Bitcoin journey. Also, [check the sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/about) that's filled with lots of great info and if you have any questions, visit r/BitcoinBeginners or r/Bitcoin and look for the answers.

SpecificArugula9909

Good analysis but I feel like whole cycle pattern thing has changed now as ETF money is involved. wall street spot buying doesn't really care about historical retail chart patterns from 2018

Klutzy-Sea-4857

Cycles have been dead since the ETF approval in my opinion. Everything moves differently now. Still bullish long term though.

Calm_Recognition_940

How? I’m ashamed you’re part of the BTC community. It’s a currency not an ETF

MSmithRD

That really sucks. I'm sorry. Hearing this and hearing the other stories in this thread and hearing the coldcard stories I am now convinced more than ever that cold storage is not the way to go. Fidelity crypto or Spot ETF is the safest move IMO. I've heard too many problems with Coinbase to recommend storing it there.

DifficultSquash1517

Hardware wallets are so 2019 🤷 If you're in it for the price action and the money and not the tech just by the ETF Not only will Fidelity or Schwab or Black Rock or SIPC make good if your ETF gets hacked... You can also make 1 to 2% on your money every month by writing covered calls which is a substantial amount of money 😮 But if you're already so rich that you don't care about 2% or if you just anti-money then ignore this post

Typical-Snow3034

Hey. CoinRabbit team here. An account takeover matters in both cases, but the exit paths are not identical. With custodial Bitcoin, an attacker may be able to withdraw the asset to an external blockchain address. Once confirmed, that transfer is generally irreversible. With an ETF, the attacker would first have to sell the position and then move the cash through the brokerage and banking system, where account-name checks, settlement periods and withdrawal restrictions may create additional barriers. That does not make every ETF account automatically safer. Both options still depend on account security, recovery procedures and the provider’s controls. Custodial crypto additionally requires questions about reserves, asset reuse and authorization of external addresses. CoinRabbit is also a custodial crypto platform, which is why we use 2FA and passkeys together with withdrawal address whitelisting. The useful comparison is not simply “ETF versus app,” but what an attacker could actually do after gaining access and which controls would interrupt that path.

Texican61

HWW and ETF. I use Coinomi for a hot wallet when I need to do transactions

Majestic-Penalty-433

Everyone stressing over BTC getting rejected at $65k again needs to log off and get a coffee. With oil surging past $81 and CPI data dropping later this week, institutional spot ETF demand is just getting swallowed by macro sellers. I'm just leaving limit orders at $61k and touching grass today. Anyone actually trading this chop?

Laukess

If you are a hardcore bitcoiner I think you should self-custody. It's one of the major selling points of bitcoin. If everyone used their bitcoin through a 3rd party, it would be far to easy to capture. That said, I think there's a larger and larger portion of bitcoin holders, that don't really care about the underlying asset, and mostly see it as an investment. If this is you, the I think a 3rd party custodian is a valid option. Yes, your chances of loss are higher compared to a proper self-custody setup, but if you're going to half ass your self-custody solution, you might be worse off. I would imagine you would be better off with an ETF compared to an exchange, but that's mostly me guessing. I find it quite scary that most of them use Coinbase as a custodian. They've become quite the honey pot, and I'm not sure what the ETF providers would do if Coinbase lost access or the bitcoin was stolen. Also, make sure it's not easy for a 3rd party to access your exchange account. Remove the phone verification and add 2FA. You can also use hardware security keys like yubikey, but that introduces additional risk if you lose them.

Futurebeachbumz

As mentioned i use a major exchange where i dont feel this should be a main concern and resonate with the core principle of being able to trade it no matter where i go and dont feel an ETF serves that purpose but also dont know much about them so am willing to learn otherwise

HedgehogGlad9505

Two things could happen to your coins at the exchange. The business owner can rug pull you, or a hacker can login with your password and drain your account before you can call the customer service. If you really need someone else to hold your coins, ETF may be better.

PeaceAgitated1978

Exactly. Nice resume. All we shall look at is, first before anything else, does they plan to print money to debase the national debt. Yes. Then when? Then is the legislations, laws, support from Big money, clarity act is something.. but even without it. We still go up like moonshot if the last correction hit the reset has they wishes. Recovery will be spectacular. Can't happen without a finale. One last fireworks. And how they time it. With the flood's gates of newly minted stablescoin and $$.. is the true how fast will the recovery be. Just wait and see. Macro economics is financing BTC rise.. nothing else. That last cycle was lame because of how adoption been. And because not the same players were in the arena.. ETF and MSTR, versus gamblers over leveraged.. whales has been made in 2021.. now they ain't acting the same. They adapted to who is the biggest fish in the ponds. And it's not them, for most of them. 800 000 BTC all to one single entity. The same for ETF. Even bigger if you group them .. ok, it's just 20% of the 21 millions total supply. But don't forget the 4 millions BTC that never have moved and are estimated lost. Market volatility adapted .. these big entities are feeling bigger since we got some deads account loaded. In % of the whole. They understood that years ago. They control and manipulate BTC. Just by a lack of organization on our side. We totally still can GameStop the chart against them 🤣 only most of us don't share the same language.

BigvalBROski

Use a 20 character passphrase or just buy the ETF

TheresNoSecondBest

Suggested Strike, River or Swan are good options. Anyway, congrats on the move, it's never too late, [despite new people thinking otherwise](https://old.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/rskpuf/i_have_only_600_bitcoinsi_missed_the_bus/). ONLY INVEST MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. Invest in your knowledge, learn about Bitcoin as much as you can. The Bitcoin Standard book is a must read. So is Broken Money by Lyn Alden. Also, **don't reply any DMs**, emails, private messages on other social media, promising to buy Bitcoin from them or get rich quick by investing into some website. They all are scammers. Even the hot Asian chick, he's a scammer too. **Price wise, nobody knows what the price will be tomorrow, next week or at the end of the year.** **Try "Bitcoin ONLY" strategy for at least the first 210,000 block cycle**, you'll sleep much better. Newcomers lose so much money, holding tokens just because someone on YT told them to. If you don't like losing money in [failed coins](https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/how-many-cryptocurrencies-failed), avoid. DCA is probably the best approach. Once a week works best for me, but I'm getting paid weekly. This [DCA calculator](https://21vox.com/dca-calculator) might help to decide what will work best for you. In a few years, even $10 dollars a month can make a massive difference. This [DCA blog](https://er-bybitcoin.com/) is pretty interesting too and compares buying bitcoin VS stocks. Now, don't buy some fake bitcoin at a spot ETF place or similar, **get the real thing** that you can withdraw anytime you want. Register at a proper exchange and buy real Bitcoin. Any of these will do [https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin](https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin) Install (or buy - in case you're getting Bitcoin in Thousands of $) one or more of these wallets. **Good wallet choices:** [https://blockstream.com/app/](https://blockstream.com/app/) \- Top Security Features, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://bluewallet.io](https://bluewallet.io/) \- excellent, easy to use wallet, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://www.sparrowwallet.com](https://www.sparrowwallet.com) - top desktop wallet [https://electrum.org](https://electrum.org/) \- Solid choice, Open Source and Non-Custodial, one of the oldest and most trusted Bitcoin Wallets. I prefer the desktop version but it works on mobile too. **Lightning wallets** to consider (cheaper and faster transactions, great for small amounts): [https://phoenix.acinq.co/](https://phoenix.acinq.co/) \- Phoenix - very good wallet, uses Tor for extra privacy, easy for anyone new [https://blixtwallet.github.io/](https://blixtwallet.github.io/) \- Blixt - great UI, fast and clean. The app runs a full LND node on your phone and you have the ability to easily open channels to whatever nodes you like. [https://zeusln.com/](https://zeusln.com/) Zeus - impressive wallet with many features, can even generate Nostr keys [https://breez.technology](https://breez.technology/) \- Breez - excellent POS for small business owners as well as integrated Bitrefill Note: Breez does also a hybrid liquid/LN wallet called Misty Breez - the sats being on liquid means no need for channels although the payments take a few extra seconds. You'll also can get a free customable LN address. While talking about hybrid wallets, there's also Aqua Wallet although not IMHO as good as Misty Breez. There are also custodial LN wallet but I would honestly avoid using them because you have to trust the wallet operator not to steal your money. Their only advantage is that they are incredibly easy to use, although it might cost you big one day. To keep up to date with spending wallets, visit r/TheLightningNetwork at least once a while and perhaps r/RGB in the future. **Hardware Wallets** (to store larger amounts): [Trezor](https://trezor.io/) \- Easy to use, no matter how new in Bitcoin you're. If you can afford it, opt for Safe 7 (**air-gapped**) and use the Bitcoin only firmware as it's safer than a multi coin software. [BitBox02](https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/bitcoin-only/) - another great little device, opt for the more secure Bitcoin ONLY version (less coins = less code = less chance for a hidden bug or a backdoor). Sadly, this device is **not air-gapped**. [Jade](https://blockstream.com/jade) - air gapped, fully open source, Bitcoin only, great features. There's a newer version called Jade Plus, it has much better camera and overall is a better build. I would go stateless instead of using their servers. You can even [build it on your own](https://github.com/Blockstream/jade/), if you feel adventurous. [Seedsigner](https://github.com/SeedSigner/seedsigner) - another DIY, fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, not for you if you're just starting up but something to consider later. [Krux wallet](https://selfcustody.github.io/krux/) - one more DIY hardware device, I love this one for many reasons. Similar to Seedsigner, it's fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, that is not for you right now if you're just starting up, but something to consider at a later stage and/or to up the security of your bitcoin. There's also Ledger, but I wouldn't recommend it as it's not fully open source, keep and already leaked customers' details, recently said they're capable of sending customers' keys out just with a firmware update, making is an expensive hot wallet. The opposite of what you want from a cold wallet. **Stay away**, save yourself a headache in the future. The same goes for many other hardware wallets that are too new or filled with too much of unnecessary shitcoin code. Stay away. There's also ColdCard, great features but recently had a massive duckup, I would wait until all of their code is fully open source, preferably rewritten by the community before touching it. Whatever wallet you'll decide to buy, purchase DIRECTLY from the manufacturer, no eBay, no Amazon. Make sure the device is NOT preset, and you will generate your own seed words. Write them down on any piece of paper as well as the receiving address. Now wipe the wallet and generate a new wallet. If the seed words are different from the first set, you're safe to use it. Find an option to set a passphrase and use it. This will boost the security to another level. Never store the seed words and passphrase together. Use a different medium if possible. If somebody finds both, they'll be able to steal your coin. This little device will hold the keys to your money, that's the reason why you have to be a bit more careful. Also, no worries, if it breaks, you can replace it - as long as you keep your seed words and passphrase(s) safe. Welcome to the rabbit hole and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions anytime during your Bitcoin journey. Also, [check the sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/about) that's filled with lots of great info and if you have any questions, visit r/BitcoinBeginners or r/Bitcoin and look for the answers.

Remarkable_Wish_5106

They don't directly own any BTC as far as I know of, they do offer a BTC ETF for investors.

JumpProfessional3372

Yeah I agree, but in this situation, i think it might be better to just buy an ETF based on Bitcoin. Anyone can go self-custody, but if they do not want to spend time to mitigate the risks, then is going to be risky.

Romanizer

If Bitcoin literally disappeared tomorrow, ~$1.3T of market value would disappear with it. ETF investors, public companies with BTC treasuries, miners, exchanges, custodians, lenders, derivatives traders and millions of holders would notice immediately. Entire businesses and balance sheets would be impaired overnight. Would your local supermarket stop working? No. But “civilization would continue” is an extraordinarily low bar for claiming an asset has no relevance. Apple, Microsoft or basically everything else you invest in could disappear tomorrow and most humans could still eat their breakfast.

TheresNoSecondBest

Congrats on the move, it's never too late, [despite new people thinking otherwise](https://old.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/rskpuf/i_have_only_600_bitcoinsi_missed_the_bus/). ONLY INVEST MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE. Invest in your knowledge, learn about Bitcoin as much as you can. The Bitcoin Standard book is a must read. So is Broken Money by Lyn Alden. Also, **don't reply any DMs**, emails, private messages on other social media, promising to buy Bitcoin from them or get rich quick by investing into some website. They all are scammers. Even the hot Asian chick, he's a scammer too. **Price wise, nobody knows what the price will be tomorrow, next week or at the end of the year.** **Try "Bitcoin ONLY" strategy for at least the first 210,000 block cycle**, you'll sleep much better. Newcomers lose so much money, holding tokens just because someone on YT told them to. If you don't like losing money in [failed coins](https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/how-many-cryptocurrencies-failed), avoid. DCA is probably the best approach. Once a week works best for me, but I'm getting paid weekly. This [DCA calculator](https://21vox.com/dca-calculator) might help to decide what will work best for you. In a few years, even $10 dollars a month can make a massive difference. This [DCA blog](https://er-bybitcoin.com/) is pretty interesting too and compares buying bitcoin VS stocks. Now, don't buy some fake bitcoin at a spot ETF place or similar, **get the real thing** that you can withdraw anytime you want. Register at a proper exchange and buy real Bitcoin. Any of these will do [https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin](https://bitcoin-only.com/get-bitcoin) Install (or buy - in case you're getting Bitcoin in Thousands of $) one or more of these wallets. **Good wallet choices:** [https://blockstream.com/app/](https://blockstream.com/app/) \- Top Security Features, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://bluewallet.io](https://bluewallet.io/) \- excellent, easy to use wallet, Open Source and Non-Custodial [https://www.sparrowwallet.com](https://www.sparrowwallet.com) - top desktop wallet [https://electrum.org](https://electrum.org/) \- Solid choice, Open Source and Non-Custodial, one of the oldest and most trusted Bitcoin Wallets. I prefer the desktop version but it works on mobile too. **Lightning wallets** to consider (cheaper and faster transactions, great for small amounts): [https://phoenix.acinq.co/](https://phoenix.acinq.co/) \- Phoenix - very good wallet, uses Tor for extra privacy, easy for anyone new [https://blixtwallet.github.io/](https://blixtwallet.github.io/) \- Blixt - great UI, fast and clean. The app runs a full LND node on your phone and you have the ability to easily open channels to whatever nodes you like. [https://zeusln.com/](https://zeusln.com/) Zeus - impressive wallet with many features, can even generate Nostr keys [https://breez.technology](https://breez.technology/) \- Breez - excellent POS for small business owners as well as integrated Bitrefill Note: Breez does also a hybrid liquid/LN wallet called Misty Breez - the sats being on liquid means no need for channels although the payments take a few extra seconds. You'll also can get a free customable LN address. While talking about hybrid wallets, there's also Aqua Wallet although not IMHO as good as Misty Breez. There are also custodial LN wallet but I would honestly avoid using them because you have to trust the wallet operator not to steal your money. Their only advantage is that they are incredibly easy to use, although it might cost you big one day. To keep up to date with spending wallets, visit r/TheLightningNetwork at least once a while and perhaps r/RGB in the future. **Hardware Wallets** (to store larger amounts): [Trezor](https://trezor.io/) \- Easy to use, no matter how new in Bitcoin you're. If you can afford it, opt for Safe 7 (**air-gapped**) and use the Bitcoin only firmware as it's safer than a multi coin software. [BitBox02](https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/bitcoin-only/) - another great little device, opt for the more secure Bitcoin ONLY version (less coins = less code = less chance for a hidden bug or a backdoor). Sadly, this device is **not air-gapped**. [Jade](https://blockstream.com/jade) - air gapped, fully open source, Bitcoin only, great features. There's a newer version called Jade Plus, it has much better camera and overall is a better build. I would go stateless instead of using their servers. You can even [build it on your own](https://github.com/Blockstream/jade/), if you feel adventurous. [Seedsigner](https://github.com/SeedSigner/seedsigner) - another DIY, fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, not for you if you're just starting up but something to consider later. [Krux wallet](https://selfcustody.github.io/krux/) - one more DIY hardware device, I love this one for many reasons. Similar to Seedsigner, it's fully open source, air gapped, Bitcoin only hardware wallet, that is not for you right now if you're just starting up, but something to consider at a later stage and/or to up the security of your bitcoin. There's also Ledger, but I wouldn't recommend it as it's not fully open source, keep and already leaked customers' details, recently said they're capable of sending customers' keys out just with a firmware update, making is an expensive hot wallet. The opposite of what you want from a cold wallet. **Stay away**, save yourself a headache in the future. The same goes for many other hardware wallets that are too new or filled with too much of unnecessary shitcoin code. Stay away. There's also ColdCard, great features but recently had a massive duckup, I would wait until all of their code is fully open source, preferably rewritten by the community before touching it. Whatever wallet you'll decide to buy, purchase DIRECTLY from the manufacturer, no eBay, no Amazon. Make sure the device is NOT preset, and you will generate your own seed words. Write them down on any piece of paper as well as the receiving address. Now wipe the wallet and generate a new wallet. If the seed words are different from the first set, you're safe to use it. Find an option to set a passphrase and use it. This will boost the security to another level. Never store the seed words and passphrase together. Use a different medium if possible. If somebody finds both, they'll be able to steal your coin. This little device will hold the keys to your money, that's the reason why you have to be a bit more careful. Also, no worries, if it breaks, you can replace it - as long as you keep your seed words and passphrase(s) safe. Welcome to the rabbit hole and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions anytime during your Bitcoin journey. Also, [check the sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/about) that's filled with lots of great info and if you have any questions, visit r/BitcoinBeginners or r/Bitcoin and look for the answers.

Romanizer

This institution has many different owners/investors so it's more like an ETF at this point. 4% of a global asset it also a very low concentration comparing to other assets.

RoundChampionship840

Literally anyone who wants exposure to Bitcoin can just buy an ETF. It's definitely not "early".

Remarkable_Wish_5106

Exactly, but the moon boys never explain that small detail to the retail crowd. It's retail and hedge funds are use the ETF's for trading. Large institutions never bought into crypto,

DifficultSquash1517

Speak for yourself.. my IBIT ETF is 100% covered 🤷

Turdfurgsn

100mil sold Same day BTC ETF purchases were 800mil Move on

gizram84

> In the cryptocurrency space, MSTR is the last place you should be putting your money If argue it goes: Bitcoin (self custody), Bitcoin ETF, Bitcoin (exchange), MSTR, STRK, Ethereum, all other shitcoins. In that order. Yes MSTR sucks, but the average person will make so much more money in MSTR than any of the shitcoins they "iNvESt" in

BitPulse_

Cycle timing looks compelling, but institutional ETF inflows changed how liquidity flows compared to past cycles. To evaluate whether now is a good entry window, I usually look at on-chain metrics like the MVRV Z-Score to see if price is near realized value rather than relying strictly on the calendar...

DifficultSquash1517

Most of us are aware of the risks in self-custody Tell us some of the risks of having an ETF on Robinhood

BitPulse_

Cycle timing looks compelling, but institutional ETF inflows changed how liquidity flows compared to past cycles. To evaluate whether now is a good entry window, I usually look at on-chain metrics like the MVRV Z-Score to see if price is near realized value rather than relying strictly on the calendar.

Ok_Specialist1911

This saddens/infuriates me. While I have not lost anything in this catastrophe, I took huge losses in the stock market in my mid 20’s and did not think I would ever recover. You have to get back in at some point, now is as good a time as any as we still remain near a cycle low. Put in what you can, when you can. Look into Seedsigner, Jade plus from Blockstream, Trezor. Multi-sig if you can, only go up to your abilities, or just buy the ETF’s. It will take time, but you will recover.

ImperialPotentate

ETFs are fine unless you're some conspiracy kook. I have almost as much in my Bitcoin ETF as I do in my cold wallet, difference being the ETF is in a tax-free account so I won't be bent over for capital gains taxes when I go to sell.

piejlucas

This may not help but many years back I too suffered a loss. Nearly 12 BTC gone to someone who installed a key logger on my PC. It was an $11k loss at the time. Instead of resigning myself to Bitcoin I got a hardware wallet and repurchased the lost coins as soon as I was able. Those coins ended up costing me nearly 2x what the lost batch did. But the years passed and my investment went on to eclipse the loss. Today I would advise the same except I would suggest you consider an ETF or custody at Fidelity. Those options did not exist for me back then.

DifficultSquash1517

Problem in these threads is that a lot of people try to downplay the risk and always blame the user for making some kind of mistake and that this would never happen if they didn't make the mistake Well that's what makes self custody so dangerous as it's easy to make mistakes 🤷 And for some reason when everyone talks about keeping it on an exchange or buying the ETF it gets downvoted. LOL🤣 If everyone's ETFs got hacked they would have to put up with all those risky pesky bankers from BlackRock and Schwab calling them and bothering them to try to give them their money back

Romanizer

The biggest change isn’t the price, it’s legitimacy and access. Five years ago Bitcoin was still largely a retail/crypto-native asset. Today US spot ETFs from BlackRock, Fidelity etc. hold roughly 1.2 million BTC, close to 6% of total supply, giving institutions exposure through normal brokerage, custody and portfolio infrastructure. Institutional adoption is no longer theoretical either. 13F filings now show exposure from asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, university endowments and sovereign wealth funds. Even after a rough Q1 2026, professional investors still reported about $17.8B in US Bitcoin ETF holdings. Politically, the shift is arguably even bigger: the US created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in 2025, while comprehensive market-structure legislation (CLARITY) has passed the House and cleared Senate Banking, although it still isn’t law. So I’d describe Bitcoin today as having moved from “Can this survive?” to “How deeply does this become integrated into the global financial system?” The protocol itself hasn’t changed much. The world is adapting to it.