Discover ways to invest in cryptocurrency without owning coins, including crypto ETFs, related stocks and other indirect investment options.
Updated October 17, 2026
Discover ways to invest in cryptocurrency without owning coins, including crypto ETFs, related stocks and other indirect investment options.
You can invest in crypto without buying coins by gaining price exposure through financial instruments that track cryptocurrency values, rather than owning the digital assets directly. The main routes are crypto CFDs (contracts for difference), which let you speculate on price movements in either direction without owning anything; crypto exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products, which hold or track cryptocurrencies and trade on regular stock exchanges where they’re available; regulated crypto futures and options; and shares in crypto-related companies, such as miners, exchanges and blockchain technology firms, either individually or through thematic funds. Each route removes the need to set up a crypto wallet, manage private keys or use a crypto exchange, which are among the biggest practical barriers for newcomers. The encouraging truth is that indirect exposure has never been more accessible; the honest caveat is that every route carries its own costs and risks, and none of them makes crypto’s notorious volatility go away.
This guide explains how to get crypto exposure without buying coins: why many people prefer indirect routes, how each option works, what it costs, the specific risks involved, and how to decide which approach suits your goals. It also clearly separates long-term investing from short-term trading, because the instruments in this space serve very different purposes. The recurring theme is that the right route depends on whether you want long-term exposure, short-term trading flexibility or a broader bet on the industry, and that each comes with trade-offs you should understand before committing capital.
This article is educational and does not constitute investment advice; cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and trading CFDs carries a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
For those who want the essentials immediately, here are the main options.
Crypto CFDs let you speculate on the price of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether through a broker, going long if you expect prices to rise or short if you expect them to fall, usually with leverage. You never own the coins, so there’s no wallet or custody to manage. They’re designed for shorter-term trading rather than long-term holding. Crypto ETFs and ETPs hold or track cryptocurrencies and trade on stock exchanges through a regular brokerage account; in some markets, funds that hold Bitcoin and Ether directly are available, while in others, access is limited or restricted. Crypto futures and options are regulated derivatives that allow speculation and hedging but are generally complex and suited to experienced traders. Crypto-related stocks and thematic ETFs give exposure to companies whose businesses are linked to the crypto industry, such as miners, exchanges, payment firms and companies holding crypto on their balance sheets, though their prices are also driven by company-specific factors.
The key trade-off: indirect routes remove the technical and custody challenges of owning coins, but introduce costs, structural differences and risks of their own. The rest of this guide explains each option in depth.
Owning cryptocurrency directly involves more than clicking “buy.” You typically need to open an account with a crypto exchange, transfer funds, and then decide how to store your coins, either on the exchange or in a personal wallet secured by private keys. If those keys are lost, the coins can be permanently inaccessible. If an exchange is hacked, mismanaged or fails, funds held there can be at risk.
Several motivations come up repeatedly. Convenience is one: many people prefer to use familiar brokerage platforms rather than learning crypto-specific tools. Security is another: avoiding direct custody removes the risk of losing private keys or falling victim to wallet scams. Regulation matters too, because some traders prefer instruments offered through regulated financial providers. Flexibility is a factor for active traders, who may want to profit from falling prices as well as rising ones. And for some, it’s about portfolio integration, holding crypto exposure alongside shares, funds and other assets in a single account.
A crypto CFD, or contract for difference, is an agreement with a broker to exchange the difference in a cryptocurrency’s price between when a position is opened and when it’s closed. If you buy a Bitcoin CFD and Bitcoin’s price rises, you profit from the difference; if it falls, you lose. If you sell, or short, a Bitcoin CFD, you profit if the price falls and lose if it rises.
Crypto CFDs are traded through a broker’s platform, often the same one used for forex, indices and commodities. Positions are usually leveraged, meaning you deposit a fraction of the position’s value as margin. Because cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, leverage on crypto CFDs is typically much lower than on major currency pairs in many regulated jurisdictions, reflecting the higher risk. Positions held overnight generally incur financing charges.
The main advantages are that there’s no wallet, private key or crypto exchange account to manage; you can go long or short, allowing you to trade both rising and falling markets; and you can access crypto alongside other markets on one platform. The main risks are leverage, which magnifies losses as much as gains and can cause rapid losses in a market that can move sharply in hours; overnight financing costs that make CFDs expensive for long-term holding; and the fact that you never own the underlying asset. Crypto CFDs are best understood as a short to medium-term trading instrument rather than a long-term investment.
Skyriss offers crypto CFD trading within a regulated environment, alongside forex, indices, commodities and shares, giving traders a way to speculate on crypto price movements in both directions without ever holding coins.
Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) are investment products listed on stock exchanges that give exposure to the price of one or more cryptocurrencies. You buy and sell them through a regular brokerage account, just like shares.
Spot crypto ETFs and physically backed ETPs hold the actual cryptocurrency through a custodian, so their value tracks the market price of the coin. In some jurisdictions, including the United States, funds that hold Bitcoin and Ether directly have been approved and trade on major exchanges. Futures-based crypto ETFs track the price indirectly by holding crypto futures contracts, which means their returns can differ from the spot price because of the costs of rolling contracts over time. Exchange-traded notes and other ETPs, common in some European markets, may be backed by crypto holdings or structured as debt instruments, depending on the product.
Availability varies by country, and some jurisdictions restrict retail access to crypto ETPs. Funds charge annual management fees, which reduce returns over time. Exchange-listed products trade only during stock market hours, while cryptocurrencies trade around the clock, so prices can gap when the stock market reopens after significant weekend moves. Futures-based products can underperform the underlying coin over time, and some structures carry issuer or counterparty risk. For long-term investors who want crypto price exposure through a familiar brokerage account, spot crypto ETFs, where available, are often the most direct alternative to owning coins.
Crypto futures are contracts to buy or sell a cryptocurrency at a set price on a future date, while options give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price before a certain date. Regulated crypto futures and options are listed on major derivatives exchanges.
Mainly experienced traders and institutions. Futures can be used to speculate on price direction or to hedge existing exposure, and options allow more complex strategies based on volatility and price ranges. However, contract sizes can be large, margin requirements and expiry dates must be managed carefully, and leverage can lead to substantial losses. For most retail participants, futures and options are among the more complex routes into crypto exposure.
Another indirect approach is investing in companies whose businesses are linked to the crypto industry. These include cryptocurrency miners, crypto exchanges and trading platforms, payment and fintech companies with significant crypto operations, firms that hold large amounts of cryptocurrency on their balance sheets, and technology companies providing blockchain infrastructure or hardware.
Often, but not perfectly. Many crypto-related stocks tend to rise and fall with crypto markets, sometimes even more sharply. However, their prices are also driven by company-specific factors such as earnings, management decisions, debt levels, regulation, competition and broader stock market sentiment. A mining company, for example, is affected by energy costs and operational efficiency as well as by the price of the coins it mines. This means crypto stocks provide a combination of crypto exposure and business risk, rather than pure crypto price tracking.
Shares in crypto-related companies can also be traded as share CFDs, which allow traders to speculate on their price movements in either direction without owning the shares, with the same leverage-related risks as other CFDs.
Thematic ETFs focused on blockchain or the digital asset industry hold a basket of crypto-related companies rather than cryptocurrencies themselves. They spread exposure across multiple companies, which reduces the risk of relying on any single business.
No. A blockchain or crypto equity ETF owns shares in companies, while a spot crypto ETF owns, or closely tracks, the cryptocurrency itself. Blockchain ETFs may hold companies whose exposure to crypto is only partial, and their performance can diverge significantly from coin prices. Like other thematic funds, they can be concentrated, carry higher fees than broad market ETFs, and be heavily influenced by market enthusiasm around the theme.
The instruments covered in this guide fall broadly into two camps, and choosing the right one starts with knowing which camp you’re in.
Long-term investing means holding exposure for months or years, typically in the belief that a cryptocurrency or the broader industry will grow in value over time. Spot crypto ETFs, where available, and diversified crypto-related equity funds are generally more aligned with this approach, because they don’t carry leverage or daily financing costs.
Short-term trading means taking positions to profit from shorter-term price movements, often in both directions. Crypto CFDs, along with futures and options for more experienced traders, are designed for this. They offer flexibility and the ability to profit from falling prices, but leverage and holding costs make them unsuitable for passive, long-term holding.
Start by defining your goal and time horizon. Consider whether you need the ability to go short. Compare total costs, including management fees, spreads, commissions and financing charges. Check what’s available and permitted in your country. Understand the structure of the product, including whether it holds the actual asset, uses futures or depends on an issuer. And above all, decide how much you can afford to lose, because crypto prices can fall dramatically and remain depressed for long periods.
Indirect exposure removes some risks but not the most important one: crypto prices themselves can be extremely volatile. Cryptocurrencies have historically experienced large drawdowns, sometimes losing a significant share of their value in short periods. Every route covered here is exposed to that volatility.
Each route also adds its own specific risks: leverage and financing costs for CFDs; fees, tracking differences and trading-hour gaps for ETFs and ETPs; complexity, margin requirements and expiry management for futures and options; and company-specific and stock market risks for crypto equities. Regulatory developments can affect all of them, as rules for crypto products continue to evolve around the world.
Yes. You can gain exposure through crypto CFDs, crypto ETFs and exchange-traded products, regulated futures and options, crypto-related company shares and blockchain-focused thematic funds, none of which require you to own or store coins directly.
A crypto CFD is a contract with a broker that lets you speculate on a cryptocurrency’s price movement without owning it. You can go long or short, usually with leverage, which magnifies both gains and losses.
Not exactly. A spot crypto ETF holds the cryptocurrency through a custodian and tracks its price, but you own shares in the fund rather than the coins themselves. You can’t transfer the underlying crypto, and the fund charges management fees. Futures-based ETFs track the price less directly.
Yes. Crypto CFDs, as well as futures and options, allow you to take positions that profit if cryptocurrency prices fall. Short positions carry significant risk, particularly with leverage, because prices can rise sharply and quickly.
They can provide related exposure, but they’re not a direct substitute. Crypto stocks are influenced by company performance, debt, regulation and wider stock market conditions, so their prices can diverge from cryptocurrency prices.
No route is risk free, because crypto prices themselves are highly volatile. Unleveraged instruments, such as spot crypto ETFs where available or diversified crypto equity funds, avoid the additional risk of leverage, but they still expose investors to substantial price swings. Investing only what you can afford to lose is essential.
Generally not. Overnight financing charges make CFDs expensive to hold for long periods, and leverage increases the risk of large losses. They’re better suited to shorter-term trading strategies.
Getting crypto exposure no longer requires setting up a wallet, safeguarding private keys or navigating crypto exchanges. Crypto CFDs offer flexible, two-way trading on price movements; crypto ETFs and ETPs provide exchange-traded access through a regular brokerage account where they’re available; futures and options serve experienced traders seeking advanced strategies; and crypto-related stocks and thematic funds offer exposure to the businesses building and operating the industry.
The most important lesson is that removing the need to own coins doesn’t remove the risks of the crypto market. Each route has a different cost structure, purpose and risk profile, and the right choice depends on whether you’re investing for the long term or trading shorter-term moves. Define your goal, understand the instrument, compare the costs and size your exposure carefully. For traders who want to speculate on crypto price movements in both directions without owning coins, explore crypto CFDs with Skyriss at skyriss.com/get-started.
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