What is a Bitcoin ETF, and why are sales of VR headsets exploding

Most regular investors consider crypto investing to be a risky game. With the uncertain regulations and ambiguities around them being one reason, the whole process of just buying bitcoin might seem really complicated.

When you're a newbie, there are some complexities, and the technical aspects like bitcoin addresses and private keys might be more perplexing than they seem. Whereas trading a crypto ETF is as simple as logging into your brokerage account, picking the Bitcoin ETF's trading symbol, and buying or selling the asset.

ETF is a publicly-traded investment vehicle, similar to a stock, that tracks the performance of an underlying asset or index rather than a particular company. ETFs are traded on a regular stock exchange, and their value should rise when the price of the asset rises and fall as the price of the asset declines. The cost of a Gold ETF, for example, would track the value of the gold reserves represented within the ETF. An oil ETF, a stock index ETF, or a crypto ETF would track the value of oil, the stock index, or crypto assets, respectively.

How does bitcoin ETF work?

Crypto ETFs work precisely like any other traditional asset-backed ETF. Bitcoin ETFs track Bitcoin's current price and should react in sync with price movements.

A management company will purchase the actual coins from the market to create a Bitcoin ETF or any crypto ETF. These are held as reserves, similar to how a management company would buy stock to include in a typical ETF. The firm will then form a fund to represent the value of the Bitcoin it holds in custody and put it on the stock exchange for investors and traders to trade.

Investors don't have to worry about private keys, storage, or security with a Bitcoin ETF. They own ETF shares in the same way they own stock, and they may acquire exposure to the cryptocurrency market without having to go through the hassles of buying and holding bitcoin.

A Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. is intended to raise Bitcoin investing to a greater direction of mainstream acceptance and would make it easier for institutional investors to bet on the price of Bitcoin.

Since 2017, the SEC's main rationale for rejecting Bitcoin ETF proposals has been that Bitcoin's price is vulnerable to market manipulation. The SEC has also expressed worries about a lack of transparency in crypto markets and a potential lack of liquidity.

While cryptocurrency investors in the United States wait eagerly for the SEC to act, investors in countries such Canada, Brazil, the Middle East, and Europe are reaping the benefits of several Bitcoin ETFs launched just this year alone.

Grayscale urges investors to push for spot bitcoin ETF

Grayscale Investments launched a campaign on Tuesday to encourage U.S. investors to comment on a proposal to convert its $25.7 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In an interview, Grayscale spokeswoman Ms. Jennifer Rosenthal said the company aims to educate investors about the regulatory process and make it "easier for investors who are interested in speaking out and sharing their perspective to have the opportunity to have their voices heard," Spokesperson Ms Jennifer Rosenthal said in an interview.

Today @Grayscale announced the launch of a new public campaign to encourage American investors to submit comments on our application with the SEC to convert $GBTC to a Spot Bitcoin ETF.

— Sonnenshein (@Sonnenshein) February 22, 2022

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein announced the launch of an advocacy campaign for US-based investors to voice their concerns to the SEC before a final decision on the BTC investment vehicle in a tweet on Tuesday.

UK Law Firm Becomes First To Accept Crypto as Payment

Crypto adoption is slowly rising. Gunnercooke, a law practice in the United Kingdom, has stated that cryptocurrencies can now be used to pay for legal and professional services.

"It's vital that we accept payment in this way for our substantial client base, which spans the entire blockchain and crypto-asset ecosystem," said Financial Services and FinTech Partner James Burnie in a prepared statement. "Accepting payment in crypto assets demonstrates our commitment to and understanding of this important and growing community."

Gunnercooke has roughly 100 cryptocurrency developers, platforms, and exchanges as clients across its ten offices in the UK and Germany. The law firm has also partnered with Coinpass, a crypto asset exchange, to make bitcoin exchanges easier.

Over the next decade, We anticipate a steady shift toward cryptocurrencies becoming more widely accepted as a form of payment. Despite the modest number of firms on the list, several law firms in the United States have already begun to accept cryptocurrency as payment.

In a recent earnings call, Visa revealed that customers used crypto-linked cards to make $2.5 billion in payments in the first fiscal quarter of 2022. If Visa's crypto credit card usage is any indication, widespread adoption of cryptocurrency as a form of payment is also on the rise.

Metaverse & VR Headsets Expected to Sell 14 Million Units in 2022

According to a new estimate from TrendForce, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) headset device shipments will reach 14.2 million units in 2022, up 36% from 2021.

The growth can be ascribed in part to the buzz surrounding the metaverse, a term used to describe digital worlds designed for augmented and virtual reality, as well as the pandemic-related demand for remote experiences.

In 2021, fewer than 10 million AR/VR units will have been shipped. However, according to TrendForce, 18.8 million AR/VR gadget shipments could be supplied to customers by 2023. Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Oculus Quest 2 are now the two leading augmented and virtual reality products in market share.

JP Morgan Chase revealed last week that it has purchased land in Decentraland and aims to create a virtual branch where users may conduct events and receive banking services. They also believe the metaverse will grow to be a $1 trillion market annually. Not to forget, brands and corporations like Walmart, Apple, Nike, Gucci, and the NFL, to mention a few, are investing in NFT technology, Web 3.0, and the metaverse.

As consumers become increasingly used to these new technologies and spend more time immersed in augmented and virtual worlds, sales of AR/VR headset devices are expected to rise.