“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”

–Helen Keller

Danger and Exposure: two terms that often extend into stock market territory. As a Renaissance man, I am no stranger to either. However, today, we are going to focus on the exposure aspect.

It is true that exposure can be equated in some sense to vulnerability, but my goal with these talks is not to create vulnerability, but to potentially provide opportunity — and that often cannot be done without some element of exposure.

Today, we will be exposing ourselves to crypto exchange-traded funds — a more convenient and less-volatile play than investing directly into cryptocurrency itself. Instead of dealing with the technological aspects of creating digital wallets and securely storing cryptocurrency, interested investors can have similar exposure through ETF shares — as though it were any other stock.

The crypto ETF that we will be exposing ourselves to in this talk is one that I have previously highlighted — in fact, I discussed it in the June 19, 2025, edition of Crypto & Commodities Trader. Not only did I discuss it, but, in fact, I recommended it — the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC).

While the fund did have a slight 3% pullback when I recommended it, that pales in comparison to its overall strength in the crypto category. BTC is a passively managed fund, and its holdings are valued daily based on its benchmark, the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.

While the fund is essentially a pared down version of the original Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF, that, in no way, makes it less appealing. At the time of BTC’s conception, Grayscale was looking to create a more affordable and appealing option for retail investors — so, it spun off 10% of the assets in GBTC, reduced the expense ratio and bore us the Mini fund.

In no way does the term “mini” refer to a lesser version of any fund, but rather its expense ratio, which sits at a mere 0.15% — which I’d say is more “mighty” than “mini.”

Moreover, the fund has $4.53 billion in assets under management. If this isn’t enough incentive for exposure, consider that it is currently trading at the higher end of its 52-week range. BTC opened today’s trading session at $45.74 and the highest end of its 52-week range is $47.12.

Courtesy of Stockcharts.com.

As the chart above reveals, BTC is already regaining its momentum after its brief recent pullback, and considering that was a mere week ago, it shows that this fund is liquid enough to climb fast.

In summation, exposure can be risky — but the stock market is a game made up of risk and reward. As Helen Keller so concisely put it, “Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.”

Regardless, interested investors should always do their due diligence before adding any stock, fund or ETF to their portfolios.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Forecasts & Strategies, Tactical Trader, TNT Trader, Five Star Trader, Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods. His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.

Recent Posts

ETF Talk: Finding Value in Your Brokerage

When you’re around something enough to become intimately familiar with it, it’s easy to forget…

4 weeks ago

Reimagining a Majestic May 1st

This Friday is May 1, also known as “May Day,” in many countries around the…

4 weeks ago

Three Defense Investments with Potential to Outperform

Three defense investments with potential to outperform stand to benefit from the latest budget request…

4 weeks ago

The Next 48 Hours Decide Everything… How to Prepare Now

This content is for paid subscribers only. To gain access subscribe to one of our…

4 weeks ago

Why the Fed Meeting Doesn’t Matter

This content is for paid subscribers only. To gain access subscribe to one of our…

4 weeks ago

Latest Anthropic Release Rationalizes Huge Capex Spending

This past week, the question of whether the current $600 billion in capex spending on…

4 weeks ago