Investor and “Wealthy Dad Poor Dad” writer Robert Kiyosaki warned buyers to watch out for holding Bitcoin (BTC), gold and silver by trade‑traded funds, saying these paper‑based mostly devices aren’t any substitute for the actual factor.
Kiyosaki likened ETFs to having solely a “image of a gun” for self‑protection, helpful in good occasions however ineffective in a disaster. He stated ETFs make belongings comparable to Bitcoin and bullion extra accessible to on a regular basis buyers, however they don’t give buyers bodily possession of the underlying commodity.
He wrote:
“Typically it’s finest to have actual gold, silver, Bitcoin, and a gun.”
Kiyosaki’s skepticism isn’t new, he has beforehand informed his followers to ditch “pretend cash,” that means fiat foreign money, and switch to bearer belongings like Bitcoin, gold and silver as a hedge in opposition to inflation and a weakening U.S. greenback.
He argued that paper claims on laborious belongings can change into nugatory if the establishment issuing them fails to carry sufficient reserves. He added {that a} disaster of confidence can set off a run on an ETF or financial institution that doesn’t have ample liquidity, risking collapse.
ETFs have exploded in reputation as extra buyers search publicity to cryptocurrencies and treasured metals with out coping with chilly‑storage wallets or vaults.
A number of spot Bitcoin ETFs, launched within the US this 12 months, usually commerce billions of {dollars}’ price of shares. However that comfort comes at a value, Kiyosaki contends: you’re shopping for a declare, not the asset itself.
Nonetheless, ETF consultants like senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas imagine such fears are unfounded. He informed CoinTelegraph that ETFs are topic to strict safeguards and authorized separation between issuers and custodians
He stated:
“All of the shares of the ETF are related to precise Bitcoin; it’s a one‑for‑one ratio, there is no such thing as a paper.”
Balchunas acknowledged that the crypto neighborhood is commonly suspicious of conventional finance, however famous the ETF sector has operated for 30 years with “a sterling popularity.”
Balchunas stated that rich Bitcoin holders would possibly truly be safer utilizing ETFs, as a result of self‑custody could make them targets for theft and ransom schemes. He added that bodily gold and silver additionally carry storage and safety prices that many retail buyers can’t afford, and a regulated fund may be the higher guess for them.
The talk highlights a broader pressure between advocates of decentralized belongings and the normal monetary system. Whereas merchandise like spot Bitcoin ETFs have introduced billions in inflows and opened digital belongings to a wider viewers, skeptics comparable to Kiyosaki imagine nothing beats private possession in a disaster.
