Crypto fans celebrate Bitcoin ETFs - but wetin dem be?

Di US don make di decision wey pipo don dey expect to allow financial firms to actively invest for Bitcoin.

Pesin fit now buy wetin dey known as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by pension funds, investment portfolios and odas.

Di announcement from di head of Securities Exchange Commission come wit serious warning about di risk wey di asset get.

Cryptocurrency fans don react wit surprise - and memes about how to become rich.

But wetin be ETF?

ETF na portfolios wey allow investors to bet on multiple assets, without say dem go need to buy any demselves.

Dem dey trade am on stock exchanges like shares, dia value depend on how di overall portfolio perform for real time.

One ETF fit include one combination of gold and silver bullion, example, or one mixture of shares for both top technology and insurance companies.

Some ETFs already contain Bitcoin indirectly - but one spot Bitcoin ETF go buy di cryptocurrency directly, "on di spot", for di current price, throughout di day.

Why e make pipo happy like dat?

About one dozen investment kompanies, including Blackrock and Fidelity, don dey wait for months for di US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to give dem di green light to start to buy Bitcoin for dia own ETFs.

And afta weeks of arguement ova wording, di first now don gbab di nod.

Dis mean say one new group of investors fit now enta di speculative world of Bitcoin, without need to worry about to get digital wallets or navigate crypto exchange.

And billions of dollars dey expected to pour into di Bitcoin market, as dis financial companies start to buy di digital coin.

One minority of analysts say di cryptocurrency price go dey affected small, as spot Bitcoin ETF already dey established for oda kontris.

But wit di US giants wey enter di market, most pipo dey expect di value of bitcoins to rise wit demand.

Di price dey notoriously volatile, however e bin rise to nearly $70,000 (£55,000) one coin for 2021, bifo e fall to $16,000 for 2022.

But for 2023, e bin rise steadily, partly sake of di hype around di Bitcoin ETF approval, and now dey $44,000.

Based on one idea wey dey published online for 2008, by one pesin wey call imself Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin na di first cryptocurrency and remain di most valuable and famous.

Im price dey often seen as one barometer for di whole industry of thousands of oda coins, tokens and products wey dem build on di same blockchain technology.

And wit one rush of new moni into di ecosystem, many expect one surge for interest for cryptocurrency technology in general.

How di decision go affect cryptocurrency adoption?

Some pipo tok say dis landmark decision show say di establishment don dey finally take Bitcoin seriously, at least as one speculative asset.

For those wey konsider Bitcoin legitimate "digital gold", which beta proof fit dey dan di biggest wealth-management institutions wey dey flock to buy, oversee by regulators?

Odas say cryptocurrency dey about rejecting traditional financial systems for favour of one decentralised, pipo-powered alternative. And investment bankerswey dey buy Bitcoin just to get rich on US dollars no be wetin Satoshi Nakamoto get for mind.

But to judge from di excitement for social media, di prevailing sentiment be hope say di cash injection go make Bitcoin investors wey dey ground rich.

Wetin be di risks to future investors?

Di price of Bitcoin fit change rapidly and often without warning or explanation.

So investors fit get to weigh dat up wen dey opt for ETFs wey link to di digital coin.

But ETFs often dey sold as high-risk, high-reward products anyway.

Anoda potential risk na cyber-crime.

Bitcoin and oda cryptocurrencies subject to huge and costly attacks wey dey seen crypto kompanies dey drained of sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars overnight.

And if di likes of Blackrock become major holders of Bitcoin, dia cyber-security go dey tested for ways wey dem no dey use to.

Anoda downside na di cost to di environment.

Bitcoin rely on one huge number of powerful computers around di world, to process transactions and create coins.

Renewable energy use dey grow - but e remain to see how investment companies fit square di potential environmental cost of Bitcoin wit buyers wey dey worry about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) compliance.