BiJie.com reported:
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, pointed out that financial advisors are becoming increasingly interested in the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Hougan also expressed appreciation for the increasing acceptance of advisors at the Barron’s Advisor 100 Summit held in Palm Beach, Florida from September 18 to 20.
In a report written by the Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, Matt discussed his approach to understanding whether the audience consists of cryptocurrency novices, skeptics, supporters, or experts. Hougan confirmed that he raised his hand and asked the audience who owned Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies.
The Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise confirmed that about 70% of the audience raised their hands after the question at the summit. Hougan mentioned that this percentage is significantly higher than his speech two years ago, when only about 10-20% of financial advisors had cryptocurrencies in their portfolios.
This result aligns with the outcome of Hougan’s defense of financial advisors earlier this month, where he mentioned that their adoption rate for a Bitcoin spot ETF is faster compared to other ETFs. Hougan responded to Jim Bianco from Bianco Research on Twitter, stating that the adoption rate of investment advisors for BTC spot ETF is low.
Hougan confirmed that this year’s speech was his third during the summit. Matt also attributed this opportunity in part to the Bitcoin spot ETF earlier this year. The Bitwise executive also pointed out that this was his first time taking the main stage at the Barron’s Advisor 100 Summit, which attracts top financial advisors in the United States.
Hougan’s comments on the recent Fed interest rate cut announcement
Matt Hougan appreciated several factors that could lead to a bullish market for cryptocurrencies, including the recent interest rate cut announcement by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s press release on September 18 confirmed that the Federal Open Market Committee made the decision to cut interest rates.
The Federal Reserve decided to adopt a more aggressive interest rate cut strategy, choosing to cut rates by 50 basis points instead of the anticipated 25 basis points. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell explained that the reason behind this choice is the cooling down of employment and the central bank’s confidence in inflation rates approaching the expected 2%.
“We would certainly not say that our task is accomplished or anything like that, but we feel encouraged by the progress we’ve made.”
– Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Following the news, the prices of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related stocks surged, with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rising over 4% and surpassing $62,000. Stocks such as Coinbase’s COIN, Microstrategy’s MSTR, and Marathon Digital’s MARA also saw significant increases after the announcement.
Bitwise’s comments on Bitcoin ETF
Hougan appreciates the progress made in the Bitcoin ETF in the cryptocurrency industry. As part of the signal indicating a bullish momentum in the cryptocurrency market that Bitwise sees, Hougan mentioned the recent options trading of Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise also noted that investment firm Morgan Stanley recently plans to offer Bitcoin ETF to select clients.
Matt still pointed out the lack of BTC and cryptocurrency allocation to client accounts among the attending financial advisors. The Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise mentioned that most advisors at the summit likely work for broker-dealers that have not yet allowed them to participate in the BTC ETF market.
However, Hougan expects this dynamic to change over time, emphasizing that financial advisors are almost the first ones to allocate investments to their accounts. Afterwards, clients will have the opportunity to participate in investments within approximately 6 to 12 months.