Bitcoin mining CEO calls ETF ‘great entry point’ for crypto

After a false report on Tuesday, crypto bulls and investment firms await the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ultimate decision on Wednesday over whether to approve issuances of a spot bitcoin ETF.

Crypto companies, such as low-emission bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK), are excited about the accessibility aspects a bitcoin ETF could offer for retail investors and institutional firms.

CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the entryway into crypto a bitcoin ETF would provide, and crypto events that offer more opportunities for bitcoin miners.

“There’s a lot of institutional capital that’s been sidelined due to the risks around it,” Bradford says. “And the ETFs have now put up a system where they’re going to hold it, they’re going to manage some of those immediate risks around holding and custody of the bitcoin themselves.”

Click here to watch the full interview on the Yahoo Finance YouTube page page or you can watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live here.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

Video Transcript

– If you weren’t in Bitcoin or crypto touching before, is this the moment that changes that mindset for investors that are out there or even some larger institutional firms?

ZACK BRADFORD: I think so, because I think that often the access or the custody or what is Bitcoin. There’s potential complications that are barriers to entry. You an average investor feels very comfortable with a stock or an ETF ownership. And I think that there’s a lot of institutional capital that’s been sidelined due to the risks around it, and the ETFs have now put up a system where they’re going to hold it. They’re going to manage some of those immediate risks around, holding in custody of the Bitcoin themselves, and so I think it’s a great entry point.

And I think that if you look at the returns that Bitcoin has been producing on a long-term basis, I think you’re going to see a lot of portfolio managers access, at least a small portion of the portfolio, because they think that there’s going to be to the SEC’s point from [? whether ?] warning on Monday. There’s going to be a fear of missing out. And I think it’s a valid fear because I, of course, I’m a long-term believer in Bitcoin, and so I do think that that’s where we’re going to see an easy entry point into Bitcoin through these ETFs.

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– And Zach, when we talk about a number of the catalysts, maybe that could be on tap here for the crypto industry, also taking a look at having, what exactly that does, not only for the industry, but more specifically, your business, how are you preparing for that? And, I guess, in the long term, do you see that being a massive catalyst for the industry here just in terms of wider adoption and also what it has done, historically speaking?

ZACK BRADFORD: Yeah, the halving event is every four years, essentially the rewards that the algorithm produces for the miners that are managing the system gets cut in half, and it’s designed that way for supply-and-demand reasons. And, I think, again, on a long-term basis, as supply decreases, you get built in scarcity, and that helps improve Bitcoin and its value.

On a historical basis, in the prior halvings when it occurs, there’s usually an upward price movement 3 to 6 months after the halving event that’s very meaningful. And so as a miner, our focus has been on making sure we are amongst the most efficient miners on an energy basis, which of course, is our main cost driver, so we can stay competitive so that when the large price movement that we do expect on a post-halving basis occurs that we’re ready to benefit from that. So that’s what I would– new investors to Bitcoin, there’s a catalyst coming in April to look for that historically has led to price improvements on a long-term basis.