maybe the wrong place to say it but I assume we see another magintude the second we have good way for common investors to invest in bitcoin.
I think most people here completely underestimate how much money some insitutions and private persons have.
The challenge will be how to let the masses know that it's a good idea for Average Joe to hold some bitcoins in an IRA, and (once the EFT exists) that it's easy to do. I don't expect to see the mainstream media tripping over themselves giving this kind of investment advice!
The thing that's great about the SecondMarket BIT is that there's a sales force actually talking to rich people, convincing them to invest in Bitcoin. Will the ETF have a sales force? I expect the Winklevi will get some media splash if and when COIN goes live, but that will only last for a few weeks. Once the price falls from the next peak, who's going to be pushing Bitcoin then? Hopefully, SecondMarket BIT will still be doing that!
A great sales tactic might be to say, remember when I suggested last year that you buy our Bitcoin fund, and you weren't interested? Well it's 10 times the price now, and I expect it to continue to do extremely well. You should listen to me this time!
Of course, for that to work, they have to be pushing it now! And the numbers suggest that they haven't been selling much lately.