About a year ago, Reason magazine posted a debate between Alex Gladstein and Lawrence White entitled “Bitcoin Is an Effective Tool for Liberty.” Meanwhile, If you want to add cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to your portfolio, consider ETFs such as the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), writes Jim Woods, editor of The Deep Woods.
Alex argued the affirmative in the debate, pointing out Bitcoin’s allure in the Global South, where the official exchange rate is far higher than the exchange rate on the street, not to mention the empowerment that Bitcoin can give to those apostles of liberty who hold it — a form of exchange out of reach from governmental control.
(Editor’s Note: Jim Woods is speaking at the 2025 MoneyShow Las Vegas, which runs Feb. 17-19. Click HERE to register)
Lawrence argued the negative, stating that Bitcoin is not going to be replacing fiat money anytime soon, and pointing out that gold would be a far better tool to advance liberty than it.
Who won? You decide.
With BITO, the most important thing to underscore is that although it aims to produce returns that correspond to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, BITO’s basket contains no actual Bitcoin itself. It only invests in Bitcoin futures. The fund is actively managed and is set up to hold these futures contracts during times that Bitcoin is doing well and times when its value is falling.
As of Sept. 17, BITO was down 0.1% in a month and down 11.7% in three months. It was up 34.3% year to date. The fund has amassed $1.75 billion in assets under management and has an expense ratio of 0.95%.
Recommended Action: Buy BITO.
