EFT's: What are they?

Understanding cryptocurrency and the associated technologies can be a daunting task – especially when it comes to exchanging coins and tokens in today’s ever-evolving digital landscape. Enter Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): a secure, efficient means of exchanging digital currency that plays an important role in the world of crypto. In this blog post, we’ll break down EFTs as they apply to cryptocurrency exchanges, demystify their benefits, explore how they work with traditional banking systems, and discuss why using them is becoming increasingly popular among investors. After reading through this guide and understanding what EFTs are all about.

ETFs tracking crypto companies have endured considerable drops over the year due to adverse macroeconomic conditions.

Cryptocurrency-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have taken the two top spots for the worst-performing ETFs in Australia for the year.

To this point in 2020, investors Down Under have been met with a staggering 82% and 72% YTD losses through Dec. 30 thanks to BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (CRYP) and Cosmos Global Digital Miners Access ETF (DIGA).

BetaShares debuted its ETF on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in October 2021, just before digital currencies soared to incredible heights that they have yet to match again.

CRYP offers investors access to a range of publicly-traded blockchain and crypto companies, including Coinbase, Riot Blockchain and more. Currently the biggest holding in its portfolio is Galaxy Digital – an investment firm started by Mike Novogratz which represents 12.3%.

When Cosmos’ DIGA ETF was listed on Cboe Australia exchange in October 2021, it tracked the performance of a selection of firms dedicated to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining through the Global Digital Miners Index. Unfortunately for investors, this launch occurred at an inopportune moment.

Just one year after requesting their ETF, Cosmos discovered that the net asset value of the funds had decreased below $1 million due to waning enthusiasm for cryptocurrency. As a result, Cboe then delisted these three crypto-tracking ETFs. The data provided by ETF.com further confirms this downward trend; in fact, four out of the five worst performing U.S.-based ETFs are related to cryptocurrencies – excluding inverse and leveraged funds from consideration!

The Viridi Bitcoin Miners ETF (RIGZ) was the weakest of all, with a catastrophic 87% YTD return loss – not ideal for investors expecting exposure to Riot and CleanSpark through public listings.

Trailing closely behind was VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP), the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ) and the First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF (CRPT). All three tracked important crypto companies, such as Block Inc., Coinbase, Riot, Galaxy – owned by Jack Dorsey – among others.

DAPP, BITQ and CRPT yielded negative returns so far in the year to date of 86%, 84.5% and 81.5% respectively, proving themselves as some of this years least profitable investments.

Unfortunately, the losses this year were seen far and wide in a variety of industries; from crypto to U.S bonds, stocks to real estate – we witnessed their worst-performing years in recent decades and sometimes even centuries!

For the first time since 1932 – during the middle of The Great Depression -the classic 60/40 stock and bond mixture portfolio has experienced its weakest performance.

In stark contrast to the crypto market’s 64.5% decrease in value, Big Tech juggernauts Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet (Google) have witnessed their share prices plummet up to 70%.

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