CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
January 11, 2022
Bitpanda started with ETC's a few weeks ago. These instruments track the price of a cryptocurrency.
The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is traded on the XETRA, the electronic exchange of the Deutsche Boerse. ETC stands for Exchange Traded Cryptocurrency and gives traditional stock investors the opportunity to invest in a cryptocurrency in the same way they buy a stock or ETF. The ETC can be bought on the platform of most traditional stock brokers.
The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is listed in euros and can of course only be traded during the opening hours of the exchange. That is a disadvantage, because on a cryptocurrency exchange like Bitpanda you can trade bitcoin 24/24 and 7/7. The advantage of the ETC is that you do not have to become a customer of such an exchange or that you do not have to worry about storing your bitcoin or protecting your private keys.
Technically, a market maker provides liquidity, allowing you to buy or sell the ETC. With a purchase, bitcoin will be bought in the background, after which this bitcoin will be stored with the custodian. Finally, an ETC certificate is issued that ends up in your portfolio.
The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is thus backed by 'physical' bitcoin that is safely kept in a cold wallet. This is different from, for example, the American ETFs, which got a lot of press coverage last year. These invest in bitcoin futures and therefore do not own real bitcoin.
The Bitcoin ETC is just the very first tracker that Bitpanda will launch. This year there should also be a trackers on Ethereum and an index ETC, which will invest in a number of cryptocurrencies at once. It is an interesting option for those who think that buying cryptocoins on an exchange is too cumbersome, because in addition to a registration you also have to verify your identity, while this is already done at your stock broker.