Bitwise CEO on the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs and demand for cryptocurrencies

Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, discusses the SEC’s approval of the first Spot Bitcoin ETFs and what it means for the crypto industry.

HORSLEY. HUNTER, GOOD MORNING. GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. >> THANK YOU, FRANK. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK? OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE SPOT ETF BUSINESS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR BITCOIN GOING FORWARD? ARJUN IS AT THE CONFERENCE IN EUROPE.

PEOPLE BELIEVE IT WILL HIT ALL-TIME HIGHS ON THE BACK OF THE NEW ETF. >> I THINK THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT IN BITCOIN HISTORY OR IN THE LAST TEMPETEN YEARS. IT IS A HUGE UNLOCK TO THE SPACE. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT.

>> ACCORDING TO A SURVEY, YOUR PORTFOLIO MANAGERS HAVE BEEN WAITING TO ADD BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTO CURRENCIES. ETF IS THE OPPORTUNITY. NOW IT IS APPROVED AND ONCE IT STARTS TRADING, WHAT ARE YOU ADOPTING? DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS A CERTAIN ALLOCATION? WHAT ARE YOU HEARING?

>> YEAH, WE’RE HEARING HUGE DEMAND. BITWISE IS LAUNCHING BITB. AS YOU SAID, WE HEARD88% OF ADVISERS WHO SAID THEY WANTED TO WAIT FOR AN ETF TO BE APPROVED TO ALLOCATE TO THAT SPACE. THAT MOMENT HAS ARRIVED. WE HEARD DEMAND FROM OUR CLEANED BASE. WE SERVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF

INVESTORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HOW THEY WILL INCORPORATE IT WILL BE DIFFERENT ACROSS DIFFERENT INVESTORS. WHAT WE SEE IS A 1% TO 5% ALLOCATION IN PORTFOLIOS WHERE THE VOLATILITY BUT LOW CORRELATION OF BITCOIN CAN BE ADDED TO THE OVERALLPICTURE. I THINK PEOPLE THINK INVESTING

IN BITCOIN WITH THE VOLATILITY THAT COMES WITH THAT IS A RISKY BET. MOST INVESTORS ARE SIZING IT IN A WAY THAT IS BENEFICIAL TO THE OVERALL PORTFOLIO. THEY ARE NOT PUTTING ALL OF THE MONEY IN BITCOIN. THE ETFs MAKE THAT STRAIGHT FORWARD AND POSSIBLE TODAY.

>> YOU MENTIONED PEOPLE THAT THINK CRYPTO AND BITCOIN IS A RISKY BET. PEOPLE AT THE S.E.C. IS AMONG THOSE PEOPLE NOT THAT LONGING AGO. WHAT CHANGED TO ALLOW FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE BITCOIN ETFs? >> THE FIRST FILING FOR THE BITCOIN ETF WAS TEN YEARS AGO

WHICH IS HARD TO IMAGINE. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IT SIX YEARS. BITWISE IS A CRYPTO SPECIALIST AND HAS BEEN IN THE SPACE MANAGING OVER $1 BILLION FOR CLIENTS FOR SEVEN YEARS NOW. I THINK THE MARKET IS MATURED A LONG WAY. THE S.E.C., OVER THE YEARS,

WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE IS REGULATED QUALIFIED CUTS TO SEC SECURELY HOLD THESE ASSETS. THERE WAS CONCERN OF RISK AND MANIP MANIPULATION. THE ORDER LAST NIGHT APPROVING BITCOIN ETFs TO BE INTRODUCED TO THE MARKET EXPRESSES THEY ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE ELEMENTS. THAT IS THE WATERSHED MOMENT FOR

INVESTORS TO SEE THAT ANALYSIS FROM THE S.E.C. >> IN YOUR MIND, NOW YOU ARE ABLE TO BUY A SPOT ETF, HOW DOES THAT UNDERMINE THE ASSET? >> I THINK IT IS A CATALYST. IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF GOLD, AFTER THE DOLLAR CAME OFF

THE GOLD PEG IN THE ’70s, GOLD WAS STILL AROUND. IT WAS IN 2003 WHEN GOLD GOT THE FIRST ETF THAT THE MARKET EXPANDED AND GOLD WENT TO A TEN-YEAR BULL THE MARKET. THE ETFs SHOW A WAY FOR INVESTORS TO ACCESS THIS OPPORTUNITY AND THAT WILL MEAN

ADOPTION THROUGH