Michael Venuto, Co-Founder of Toroso Investments: Inside the World of ETFs

— ETFs are structured like mutual funds but price intraday (every second instead of once daily), creating tax efficiency and liquidity benefits through creation and redemption mechanics.

— The blockchain ETF (BLOK) launched as an actively managed fund to capture blockchain and crypto-adjacent companies; the SEC initially banned the word "blockchain" from the name due to mania concerns, renaming it the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF.

— ETF industry has grown at 19.6% annualized over 26 years, now representing $4.4 trillion in US assets with average expense ratios of 19 basis points.

— A Bitcoin or crypto ETF would likely attract $1 billion in inflows within months but represents a philosophical contradiction to decentralization; Venuto believes it may not be as transformative as expected since investors already committed to crypto have already bought directly.

— Gatekeeping by large financial institutions stifles ETF innovation by preventing access to new issuers while cloning their ideas under established brands.

— The next generation's comfort with crypto and blockchain (children not questioning its legitimacy) signals genuine adoption potential beyond speculation.

— Current ETF assets: $4.4 trillion with an average expense ratio of 19 basis points.

— Active ETFs represent 3% of assets but 6% of revenue, showing higher fee tolerance for active management (e.g., ARK at ~70 basis points).

— Bitcoin ETF estimated to command close to 1% (100 basis points) in fees due to storage costs, far above traditional passive ETF averages.

— Anticipated Bitcoin ETF would accumulate $1 billion in assets within three months and drive price appreciation through massive capital inflows into a ~$160–170 billion asset class.

— ETFs now own 7.5% of every US stock by market cap, up from 2.67% eight years ago—a threefold increase.

— Investors should understand that transparency and tax efficiency are core ETF advantages; look under the hood at actual holdings rather than relying solely on ticker name or expense ratio when choosing funds.

— If a Bitcoin ETF is approved, expect immediate capital flows and price volatility, but recognize that true believers in crypto have likely already purchased directly—the ETF may primarily onboard advisors and less-informed investors.

— Monitor spinoffs of blockchain divisions from major corporations (JP Morgan, IBM, MasterCard) as these may offer purer public exposure to blockchain technology than existing mixed portfolios.