‘Think of it as Bitcoin’s IPO’: BTC to enter ETFs post new price discovery, says Bitwise

Bitcoin According to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hogan, following the success of recently approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs), new territory is set to be carved out, and the price of BTC could top $80,000 this year.

The first success Bitcoin ETFs have broken records among similar products, leading to a steady flow of money into Bitcoin since mid-January. In an interview with DecryptHougan said that Bitwise, which together launched its BITB spot ETF Nine others On January 10th, after years of hearing from customers that they are interested in this type of product, there is expected to be a lot of demand.

Still, Hugan said the continued interest over the past month has been surprising, especially given the more gradual growth ETFs have seen since launch. With the wide access they offer, demand for Bitcoin will grow as more institutions come in to invest.

“Think of the ETF launch as Bitcoin's IPO in the US market,” Hugan said. Decrypt. “It's unleashed a huge wave of interest from traditional finance, and it's exceeded my expectations.”

Indeed, spot bitcoin ETFs have historically been successful by any measure, but Bitwise has done particularly well for itself. Because Bitwise accepted it only on the last day. 126.5 million dollars After inbounds, it's the second largest intake after inline and soon. 1 billion dollars has passed In assets under management. This only makes it to the inclusive level Blackrock, LoyaltyAnd Arc Invest 21 shares so far.

Although ETFs are now available, not every financial institution has access to them, Hugan said, and most trading is done by retail investors. Institutions such as banks and wirehouses stay away from entry, but that's to be expected, Hugan said, adding that each ETF goes through extensive due diligence with these institutions before it's offered to clients.

Like any other asset, Bitcoin's price is affected by supply and demand and this “second wave” from institutional demand. Raising pricesAccording to analysts. In his own research, Bitwise predicted Between the inflows of bitcoin into space ETFs above $80,000 at the start of the year, and the expected supply crunch following the upcoming Bitcoin halving.

The halving refers to an event that occurs programmatically on the Bitcoin blockchain every four years. Bitcoin rewards to miners, the individuals responsible for maintaining the Bitcoin network, are halved or expected to occur locally. April 20. It is designed to control BTC inflation as it reduces the amount of new bitcoins entering the market.

“If we see this kind of sustained demand that exceeds net supply, it will be positive for prices,” Hugan said. “It will be this way until the long-term investors are satisfied with it and are ready to sell.”

Certainly, this isn't a slippery slope to sky-high prices and there are caveats.

One of them is risks surrounding new regulations related to cryptocurrency that create uncertainty, especially in the midst of another contentious presidential election in the United States. Either outcome promises to change the regulatory landscape.

Another variable is the existence of pools of unmoved bitcoins outside of the current supply. About 70% of these pools–Can be arrested by governments or in litigation related to bankruptcy organizations FTX–It hasn't been affected, Hugan said, but their release could create supply pressures weighing on prices.

Since the launch of ETFs, this has seen an influx of Bitcoin held by Greyscale since the transition from trusts to ETFs. This kept prices down for a while, but when these flows seemed to cool down, Bitcoin's price rebounded.

Regardless of these risks, Hugan argues that the Bitcoin adoption picture presented by ETFs is more promising because of the opening it has created in the world of traditional finance.

“There's been a ‘step-by-step' shift in the level of attention Wall Street is paying to Bitcoin right now, and I don't think the genie is going back into the bottle,” Hugan said.