Bitcoin Foundation Chairman Brock Pierce discusses Bitcoin's performance in the wake of ETF declines and former President Trump's concerns about digital currencies.
Cryptocurrency is largely overlooked in the traditional financial world. Not so much these days, but as a reporter for Cryptocurrency Beat, one of the best examples of the mainstreaming of the digital asset business happened last week at the annual exchange-traded fund conference hosted by the world's largest asset management companies. .
As I saw it, cryptocurrencies didn't just have a seat at the so-called adult investment table. He was a notable guest. And this follows the recent regulatory approval of 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs to provide individual investors with exposure to the world's largest digital asset, an evolution in an industry that was once in the doldrums but is now on the rise. speaks eloquently about
The conference has been held annually for about a decade and is sponsored by ETF providers such as State Street, Vanguard, Invesco, and BlackRock. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are pooled assets that are bought and sold through brokerages and traded on exchanges. These allow investors to access a variety of asset classes at relatively low costs and with little risk.
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Financial advisors from around the world gather at Miami Beach's luxury Fontainebleau Hotel to interact with some of the brightest minds shaping the future of the $7.3 trillion ETF business.
Yes, there's usually a lot of talk about insider ETFs, but Bitcoin funds have received approval from cryptocurrency skeptic Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Wall Street giants like BlackRock's Larry Fink. Until it started dominating the news with a lot of help.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler attends a meeting of the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Stability Oversight Council in Washington, DC on July 28, 2023. | Getty Images
When Larry Fink speaks, people listen. He once called Bitcoin a “money laundering beacon.” Now he calls it “store of value.” BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager with about $10 trillion in assets under management, so Mr. Gensler is no match for the king of Wall Street that Mr. Fink knows.
“Financial advisors who have been coming to the conference for nearly a decade told me that cryptocurrencies were definitely the talk of the year,” said Mark Connors, research director at Toronto investment firm 3iQ. he said.
Proof: The Bitcoin ETF discussion was the most attended panel of the entire conference, with so many attendees that staff ran out of headphones provided to listen to the speakers. . The venue was mostly empty as executives from crypto asset management companies Grayscale, Bitwise, and Galaxy took to the stage to talk about their successful ETF launches.
“On the trading desk of an investment bank, you see someone about to close an important deal that they have been working on for a long time and whose outcome is uncertain. A small crowd forms, and some of them say, “I believe in this deal. “From the beginning,” said Andy Baehr, head of product at Coindesk. “That’s what the Bitcoin panel on the exchange’s main stage looked like: No empty seats in sight, no grins, no eye rolls, but over $35 billion in brand new ETF assets and Bitcoin They were admirers of the pioneers who created the coin.''It happens. Never doubt, never doubt! ”
Another topic that financial advisors have been hotly debating is whether the SEC will take the next big leap and approve a spot Ethereum ETF.
Ethereum is the second largest digital currency in the world after Bitcoin.
Based on the many conversations I've had with industry players in both the crypto and traditional financial worlds, the general sentiment regarding the SEC approving a Spot Ethereum ETF in the coming months is broadly It was positive.
There is a May deadline for the SEC to approve or deny tech investor Cathie Wood's company Ark Invest (in partnership with 21Shares) to launch an Ethereum Spot ETF.
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During a Bitcoin panel discussion, Dave Laval, head of ETFs at Grayscale, asked whether the company would sue the SEC again if it denies Grayscale's request to convert the Ethereum Trust into a spot ETF. It was done.
Laval said Grayscale “will have to wait and see the facts,” adding that the chance of approval is 50% by May.
A Bitcoin symbol is seen at the Exchange ETF Conference in Miami Beach, Florida in February 2024. (FOX Business/FOX News)
Grayscale has finally brought its Spot Bitcoin ETF to the finish line after successfully suing the SEC for denying its GBTC conversion application to Bitcoin last year, and Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Fidelity. is credited with paving the way for providing Bitcoin exposure to customers. Trust Spot ETFs.
In August, an appeals court ruled in Grayscale's favor, calling the SEC's denial “arbitrary and capricious,” and directed Wall Street's top executives to reconsider Grayscale's petition.
Four months later, on the same day, the SEC approved the launch of 11 Bitcoin Spot ETFs, marking a watershed moment for the crypto industry and finally granting them access to Wall Street.
Since then, the cryptocurrency industry has hailed Grayscale as the hero who laid the foundation for this historic event, and the company's victory was echoed at the conference.
The company was one of the event's largest and most visible sponsors. The company's booth, located in the center of the Expo Hall, was the most eye-catching of all the company exhibits. The conference admission badge lanyard featured the Grayscale logo. The company hosted a drone light show one night, with the Bitcoin logo and grayscale name lighting up the sky above Miami Beach.
Grayscale booth at the Exchange ETF Conference in Miami Beach, Florida in February 2024. | Fox News
“Trading desks are known for their 'victory laps' after big wins, and it's tempting to put that label on Grayscale's spectacular drone light show on the final night of the conference,” Beyer said. “But really, it felt more like an invitation. Cryptocurrency is now real. Friends old and new. Come with us and let’s make this even bigger.”
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Representatives of companies that own Bitcoin ETFs said they have been inundated with questions from financial advisors. Some of them are not yet allowed to recommend Bitcoin products to customers because their companies want to do “due diligence” on the products and how they operate. We were doing transactions before deploying to clients.
“I would be surprised next year if the top 10 news agencies weren't involved in this,” said Steve Kurtz, global head of Galaxy Asset Management. “There will probably be institutional FOMO.”
