the securities and exchange commission is set to let the first us bitcoin futures exchangetraded funds start trading next week since the sec isnt likely to block the etfs proposed by proshares and invesco cnbc reported on friday when asked whether hed buy the etfs once they were officially listed the shark tank investor and dallas mavericks owner was blunt no cuban tells cnbc make it i can buy btc bitcoin directly that makes sense for cuban who has previously called bitcoin better gold than gold due to its algorithmic scarcity since only a limited amount of it exists by design cuban sees more promise in bitcoin as a store of value rather than a currency thats why i own bitcoin and why i never sold it he said in april cuban also already has an extensive crypto portfolio which includes digital coins such as bitcoin ether dogecoin and other altcoins nfts or nonfungible tokens and many blockchain companies however supporters of the futuresbased bitcoin etf argue that it may offer perks over buying bitcoin directly while a physical etf holds the underlying assets or securities on which its value is based a futuresbased etf tracks futures contracts providing exposure to an asset without taking direct ownership in this case a physical bitcoin etf would hold bitcoin and track its price while a futuresbased bitcoin etf would track bitcoin futures contracts with a futuresbased bitcoin etf investors can have exposure to the cryptocurrency in their portfolio without having to own it this can be helpful for those unsure of how to safely buy bitcoin or those who prefer to not have the responsibility of protecting and securing their bitcoin wallet the price of bitcoin often swings as well so an investor buying the cryptocurrency directly would have to be able to stomach the volatility the etfs proposed by proshares and invesco are based on futures contracts and will follow mutual fund guidelines which sec chair gary gensler requested of any potential futuresbased bitcoin etf however futuresbased bitcoin etfs would also come with unique risks including higher costs and that they do not necessarily track the price of the underlying asset the etf price will not match the price of bitcoin as such it is likely better for shortterm exposure than for buy and hold longterm investing says todd rosenbluth director of etf and mutual fund research at cfra regardless financial experts often warn that investing in cryptocurrency directly is also highly risky due to their volatile and speculative nature they recommend to only invest what you can afford to lose sign up now get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter dont miss mark cuban says ethereum has the most upside as a crypto investment