Wall Street Marches Beyond BTC

Last year around this time, crypto initiated its historical surge that culminated in an all-time high — a rally fueled in parts by Wall Street and corporate America’s growing acceptance of BTC. Bitcoin has gained about 20% since the start of October, while the S&P 500 has remained largely unchanged. And, with crypto businesses raising $6.5 billion in the third quarter of 2021, it’s evident that institutional crypto adoption isn’t a passing trend. Let’s take a closer look at Wall Street’s recent crypto moves

• Clients are increasingly being offered cryptocurrency goods by banking behemoths. U.S. Bank, the country’s fifth-largest bank, has announced that it will provide Bitcoin custody services to fund managers, joining competitors such as Bank of New York Mellon and Northern Trust who are working on similar products. Bank of America stated in its first-ever crypto research report, “We believe crypto-based digital assets might create an altogether new asset class.”
• ETH, DeFi, and blockchain technology are also being considered by global corporations and fund managers. According to reports, 42% of institutional respondents are bullish on ETH; Société Générale, a French investment bank, posted about potential DeFi offerings on a well-known crypto forum; and Visa announced a “Universal Payments Channel” — a flexible network for digital currencies, including CBDCs.
• The fund managed by George Soros has acknowledged that it owns Bitcoin. “I think it’s crossed the abyss to the mainstream,” observes Soros Fund CEO Dawn Fitzpatrick . J.P. Morgan researchers argued that Bitcoin would be a stronger hedge than gold in another article, and billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya agreed.
• Meanwhile, our analysts anticipate that by the end of October, four BTC futures ETFs will have been approved. ETFs are popular components of retirement savings programs because they give investors exposure to an asset class without requiring them to hold the asset themselves.

In the last year, Wall Street’s conventional opinion on cryptocurrency has shifted from high-risk bets to mainstream components of a diversified portfolio. “Bitcoin is a lot less hazardous at $43,000 than it was at $300, it’s now well-established, with significant venture capital funding and participation from all of the major banks.” famed investor Bill Miller disclosed in a recent interview.