Calamos Investments is gearing up to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which will protect 100% of investors’ downsides in their bitcoin investment. CBOJ, an ETF whose debut will be on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) on 22 January 2025, will be available.
The new fund seeks to offer a safer route to invest in Bitcoin’s growth potential while reducing the risk of massive price swings. Historically, Bitcoin’s price has seen huge, unpredictable swings, making it far too risky for risk-averse investors. And while the CBOJ ETF doesn’t promise to outperform similar exchange-traded funds, as Calamos sees it, it does guarantee that investors won’t lose money in the event of a market downturn.
CBOJ ETF Combines Bonds and Options for Safety
The CBOJ ETF achieves this protection by blending U.S. Treasury bonds with options reliant upon the CBOE Bitcoin US ETF Index. The hybrid structure brings regulation and transparency into play for bitcoin investors who are seeking exposure to bitcoin with less risk.
Calamos’ Structured Protection ETF series, which debuted in 2024, offered similar downside protection for major stock indices, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, and the CBOJ ETF extends that framework.
The CBOJ ETF has a unique characteristic since the annual protection reset. CBOJ resets its downside protection each year, unlike traditional ETFs, which do not offer any built-in protections. “New investors will gain a new cap on unrealized gains and remain fully protected for 12 months.”
“Many investors have been hesitant to invest in bitcoin due to its epic volatility,” said Matt Kaufman, Head of ETFs at Calamos. “Calamos seeks to meet advisor, institutional and investor demands for solutions that capture Bitcoin’s growth potential while mitigating the historically high volatility and drawdowns of [the asset].”
It is an annual reset mechanism, providing investors an opportunity to adapt to the market dynamics at the time while remaining protected.
During this time of many investors seeking avenues to ride Bitcoin’s notorious volatility, it’s the perfect time to introduce the CBOJ ETF. In December 2024, several major exchanges, including Calamos, are already looking to a new derivatives-based Bitcoin ETFs in order to offer cautious investors a safer alternative to owning direct cryptocurrency.
ETFs, typically traded on exchanges where stocks are traded, allow investors to buy a collective investment, including many or all different types of assets. This is where the CBOJ ETF comes in; investors can purchase Bitcoin exposure without actually owning Bitcoin (maintaining equity exposure to Bitcoin), thus protecting themselves from downside Bitcoin risk from the structure.
Calamos Investments is getting set to enter the nascent Bitcoin investment space with the debut of the CBOJ ETF just weeks away and backed with a balanced approach to growth and risk management across the cryptocurrency space.
