The hottest ETFs Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Finance Topics

Bitcoin ETF Options Could Send Bitcoin Much Higher

The Pomp Letter • 439 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🔮 Crypto ETFs
  1. Bitcoin ETF options are expected to attract more investors, which may help stabilize its price and reduce volatility over time.
  2. Unlike traditional assets, Bitcoin tends to become more volatile when its price rises, which encourages more buying during bull markets.
  3. The new ETF options will provide a familiar way for institutional investors to access Bitcoin, potentially leading to a significant increase in prices, similar to past market events like GameStop.

Crypto Markets: Reality is Stranger Than Fiction

DeFi Education • 799 implied HN points • 19 Jun 24
🔮 Crypto ETFs
  1. Big investors are pushing for an Ethereum ETF, which could change the market. This is something to keep an eye on if you're into crypto.
  2. There's been drama around a 'Trump' memecoin, showing how wild the crypto world can be. It’s proof that reality in crypto can be stranger than what we see in movies.
  3. It's important to stay updated on the latest in the DeFi market, as changes can happen quickly. Understanding these shifts can help you make better investment decisions.

What If The Automatic Stock Buying Stops?

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 32 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Automatic buying by retirement plans, ETFs, and other systematic programs has created a persistent "passive bid" in markets.
  2. That bid is non-discretionary — it buys whenever money flows in and ignores valuations or fundamentals — so price formation has shifted from valuation-driven discovery to flow-driven moves.
  3. A recent datapoint suggests this flow-driven dynamic may be starting to change, so it’s a risk worth watching before it becomes a larger problem.

Just buy the haystack!

Compounding Quality • 3223 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Passive investing philosophy: Buy the haystack instead of looking for the needle.
  2. Everyone can invest in stocks easily through passive index funds.
  3. Consider using dollar-cost averaging strategy for investing large sums over time.

What is a Bitcoin ETF Anyway?

BowTied Bull • 2849 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Scale leads to lower costs in Bitcoin ETFs.
  2. Approving all ETFs at once provides an appearance of fairness.
  3. Focus on consistent demand and price movement 3-4 months after ETF approval.
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One ETF Up 13% This Year And Another I Like

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 20 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. I’m watching two non‑U.S. investments: one is up about 13% this year versus roughly 1% for the S&P, and the other was added to reduce concentration risk and sharpen the thesis.
  2. The core idea is that U.S. stocks trade at very high valuations (around 40x earnings) while the rest of the world is much cheaper, so relative valuation could start to matter again.
  3. If we see dollar weakness, Fed easing, and modest capital rotation away from U.S. concentration, these non‑U.S. ETFs should benefit, and it’s likely still early to own them.

ETFs begin trading, bitcoin touches $49,000

The Bitcoin Layer • 648 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Bitcoin ETFs have started trading, marking a historic moment for the cryptocurrency industry.
  2. Record-breaking trading volume for ETFs and Bitcoin, with BlackRock's ETF seeing $1 billion in trading.
  3. New ETFs are expected to impact the supply of Bitcoin in the market.

Massive growth potential for the Bitcoin ETFs

Ecoinometrics • 530 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The approval of Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC can lead to massive growth potential for Bitcoin investments.
  2. Fees in ETFs are crucial for performance - lower fees can significantly impact investment returns over time.
  3. Banks initially needing loans now profit from them, showcasing an interesting shift in liquidity management.

Investing Update: Who's Selling? You Need To Know

Spilled Coffee • 24 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The market is deeply split: the Dow hit a record 50,000 and the equal-weight S&P made a new high while the Nasdaq and software stocks plunged.
  2. Capital is rotating out of mega-cap tech, AI names, and crypto into value and cyclicals — energy, materials, industrials, emerging markets, and small caps are leading.
  3. Breadth is expanding and ETF flows suggest a regime shift, and historically that kind of rotation (not just distribution) has preceded further gains over the next 6–12 months.

Quick Gold Update: "Nothing Has Changed"

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 23 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Gold began falling on Thursday and then plunged about 10% on Friday, with mining stocks dropping even more.
  2. Investors braced over the weekend for further losses, but Monday was basically flat — more of a rebalancing day than another crash.
  3. GLD underperformed futures and GDX oddly, yet the big-picture reaction was relief and no substantive change to the gold outlook.

Why ETF fees matter when you choose your Bitcoin ETF

Ecoinometrics • 393 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. When choosing a Bitcoin ETF, fees are crucial as they can significantly impact your investment performance over time.
  2. High fees can lead to a significant decrease in net returns, especially in the long run, affecting your overall investment strategy and potential growth.
  3. Investors should consider the impact of fees on their investments, especially for long-term goals like retirement accounts, to optimize performance and maximize returns.

Bitcoin Flows Fuel Breakout as Recession Process Continues

Bitcoin Magazine Pro • 294 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Bitcoin price has been stable since December, ETF flows are positive, and impacts of macroeconomics are discussed.
  2. Bitcoin is becoming a significant force in the global economy, with nations like El Salvador and Argentina leading in Bitcoin adoption.
  3. US market approach to Bitcoin includes large ETF investments by BlackRock and Fidelity, indicating growing interest and demand.

Understanding ETFs

DeFi Education • 519 implied HN points • 01 Nov 23
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. ETFs are investment funds that hold a collection of assets and are traded like stocks. They aim to track the performance of an index or asset class.
  2. Creating your own ETF is complicated and needs approval from regulators. It’s not as easy as just launching a product; there's a lot of scrutiny involved.
  3. ETFs have a unique process for buying and selling called creation and redemption. This helps keep their price in line with the value of the assets they hold.

The Bitcoin ETF launch: not an orange wave but not a sell the news either

Ecoinometrics • 235 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The impact of the Bitcoin ETF launch is not visible yet, but the potential is huge.
  2. Short-term outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust are currently offsetting any major effects of the ETF launch.
  3. Once the transition stabilizes, more investors like BlackRock and Fidelity may bring steady inflows with the ETFs, potentially opening up Bitcoin to a broader investor base.

The Definitive Guide to Bonds

Market Sentiment • 432 implied HN points • 02 Apr 23
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Leverage in bond investments can work well but also lead to significant losses if market conditions change rapidly.
  2. Bond prices are impacted by interest rate movements, where older bonds may lose value with rate hikes.
  3. The choice between individual bonds and bond ETFs depends on factors like diversification needs, fees, and level of investment sophistication.

Ticker Take: a weekly newsletter on investing.

Jon’s Newsletter • 99 implied HN points • 28 Apr 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Tesla's stock is mainly for those who believe in its future of self-driving cars, rather than just traditional vehicles. If you don't think cars will be autonomous in the future, you might want to skip investing in Tesla.
  2. Tech companies are expected to see significant earnings growth over the next five years. Some of the highest expected growth comes from companies like Micron and AMD, which currently have low earnings but high potential.
  3. Alphabet recently introduced a dividend, which is new for a company that typically reinvests its profits. This may attract more investors looking for immediate returns, similar to what Apple and Meta have done.

Buffer Funds

Market Sentiment • 393 implied HN points • 30 Jul 23
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. With derivatives, you can create a portfolio that never loses money and still invest in stocks.
  2. Buffer funds offer a way to protect your capital from losses while capping your potential gains.
  3. These strategies were traditionally expensive and complex, but are now more accessible through ETFs.

Investing Update: 3 Stocks For 2026

Spilled Coffee • 20 implied HN points • 10 Jan 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The market began 2026 with strong momentum — major indexes hit all-time highs and many S&P 500 stocks are trading above their 50-day averages and at 52-week highs.
  2. Investor demand is heavy for equities, with record ETF inflows in December and allocations moving away from bonds and cash toward stocks.
  3. There are caution signs: January often fades later in midterm years, and declining heavy truck sales are a notable economic warning to watch.

Bitscam

Life in the 21st Century • 196 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. SEC approved bitcoin ETFs with caution for investors due to risks associated with crypto.
  2. ETF funds will use cash, not bitcoin, for transactions, highlighting challenges in using bitcoin directly.
  3. Bitcoin's focus on speculation rather than utility may hinder its potential as a replacement for the dollar.

Daily Chartbook #259

Daily Chartbook • 1493 implied HN points • 15 Aug 23
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Weakest Links are increasing due to higher costs of capital.
  2. No more interest rate hikes expected due to slowing core inflation.
  3. Inflation has shown soft patches in the past but usually leads to sharp accelerations.

Investing Update: Where Are The IPOs?

Spilled Coffee • 20 implied HN points • 13 Dec 25
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The S&P 500 hit new all-time highs and is tracking toward a 6,900 year-end target.
  2. The rally is broadening beyond AI and the Mag 7 — equal-weight S&P and sectors like small-caps, industrials, and financials are making new highs.
  3. Markets got volatile as the Nasdaq underperformed after tech earnings and rising yields, and IPO activity remains surprisingly quiet.

On-chain weakness into the Bitcoin ETFs launch

Ecoinometrics • 98 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🔮 Crypto ETFs
  1. The on-chain accumulation score did not support Bitcoin's price during the ETFs launch.
  2. There was no positive support in the accumulation trend for Bitcoin's price.
  3. It is important to adapt on-chain analysis as the volume of 'paper Bitcoin' transactions increases.

Investing Update: Has The Santa Rally Started?

Spilled Coffee • 16 implied HN points • 20 Dec 25
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Late-week strength in tech, especially AI-linked names, pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher while the Dow slipped but remains on a strong monthly streak.
  2. The S&P 500 is very close to the year-end target of 6,900 — it sits around 6,835 with only seven trading days left, so the target could be decided in the final week.
  3. Since November 21 there’s been a rotation into undervalued, cyclical and economically sensitive sectors, prompting speculation that the Magnificent 7 may underperform in 2026, though that shift may not be permanent.

MetaMask Now Has Easy ETH Staking

Daily Digest • 58 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🔮 Crypto ETFs
  1. MetaMask now allows users to easily stake ETH
  2. Fidelity's proposal for an Ethereum ETF has been delayed by the SEC
  3. Ethereum staking has reached a new high, with Lido holding over 32% of staked ETH

What is an ETF?

Concepts of Finance 🧠 • 179 implied HN points • 18 May 23
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. An ETF is a collection of different investments that you can buy as one package. This lets you invest in many assets like stocks and bonds without picking each one separately.
  2. ETFs are traded throughout the day like stocks, while mutual funds are only traded at the end of the day. This makes ETFs more flexible for buying and selling.
  3. ETFs usually have lower costs than mutual funds because they are passively managed. They also show their holdings daily, making it easier to know what you're investing in.

CNBC: Bitcoin ETFs Could Go Live Thu/Fri

Daily Digest • 58 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Bitcoin ETFs could start trading live on Thursday or Friday this week.
  2. Former SEC Chair believes approval for Bitcoin ETF in the US is inevitable.
  3. A physical Bitcoin wallet has been sent to the moon as part of a historic mission.

2025 Portfolio Results

Subsack • 4 implied HN points • 04 Jan 26
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. The portfolio delivered strong returns (about 28% YTD) and beat the S&P by roughly 10%, with healthy CAGR and Sharpe, but remained closely tied to the market (beta ~1.05) and a tariff-driven drawdown lowered the Kelly %.
  2. Holdings are split into a risk-on sleeve of thematic growth baskets (AI, pharma, semiconductors, crypto, etc.) and a risk-off sleeve of low-volatility, high-dividend assets, rebalanced quarterly; position sizing uses Hierarchical Risk Parity with a denoised correlation matrix which improved outcomes versus other weighting methods.
  3. Planned improvements include moving to Interactive Brokers for broader market access, mining simple low-volatility/high-Sharpe strategies with VectorBT and probabilistic Sharpe analysis, and adding tools like earnings-call sentiment, options panels, and a bio-pharma catalyst strategy to enhance edge.

Cathie Wood is as bullish as ever.

Jon’s Newsletter • 119 implied HN points • 19 Nov 22
💰 Finance ETFs
  1. Cathie Wood believes innovation in technology will drastically grow in the future. She thinks areas like AI and blockchain will reshape industries and bring big profits.
  2. Despite recent losses in her main fund, she sees this as a chance for investment. Wood is still confident in the companies she backs, claiming their potential for growth remains strong.
  3. Wood warns about the risk of economic downturn if current policies remain unchanged. She advocates for companies to invest in their growth during these challenging times.