Who is interested in cryptocurrencies today

Here’s one of Hogan’s quotes sharing his impressions from attending last week’s Barron’s Advisor 100 Summit in Palm Beach, Florida.

A wave of the most influential people in finance are finally turning to cryptocurrencies.

Bitwise platform investment director Matt Hogan

According to The Block’s sources, the summit brings together the top financial advisors in the US. Hogan was invited there to give a speech on the results of the launch of the first spot Bitcoin-ETFs in America, which also includes Bitwise’s BITB fund.

The company’s chief investment officer began the speech by asking how many people own bitcoins or other crypto assets in their personal portfolios. According to Matt, he has been asking this question for the past three years.

And while the answer used to be in the range of 10 to 20 per cent of those in attendance, this time around 70 per cent of the audience claimed to own crypto, according to the expert. Here’s his cue.

There’s a very complicated technical word that economists use to describe this kind of phenomenon in a year – “wow.”

Inflows and outflows of funds from spot Bitcoin-ETFs in the US

He then asked how many funds specifically for BTC had been allocated in the accounts of clients of those present, only a few raised their hands stating their willingness to answer the question. This is not surprising, as many advisors work for broker-dealer firms that are not yet allowed to buy spot Bitcoin-ETFs. However, in his experience, Hogan noted that advisors almost always allocate funds to their personal accounts first, after which clients tend to repeat after 6-12 months.

The Bitwise investment director also pointed to several other bullish signals in the coin industry. These include the recent 50 basis point cut in the benchmark lending rate by the US Federal Reserve, the approval of spot Bitcoin-ETFs by Morgan Stanley management, and the launch of BlackRock’s IBIT fund-based options. Although as the expert emphasised, the small vote in Palm Beach was “one of the most powerful signs of the bullrun” in his perception.

Cryptocurrency investors during the bullrun

The fourth quarter of 2024 promises to be eventful. This is especially true for the crypto market: analysts expect a sharp rise in the value of Bitcoin before the end of the year. Here is a quote from CF Benchmarks chief expert Gabriel Selby on the subject.

Against a backdrop of macro shifts and institutional acceptance, digital assets are expecting continued growth in the fourth quarter. As sovereign balance sheets come under pressure, investors will be looking for long-term hedging instruments along the lines of Bitcoin.


Importantly, digital assets will become increasingly attractive to ordinary investors as well. Still now, as the base interest rate in the U.S. declines, the yields on traditional investment instruments will decline. Accordingly, holders of capital are literally forced to look for alternatives for investment. And the same Bitcoin now seems not as risky a choice as it was a few years ago. Still, spot ETFs were launched on its basis this year, with which the largest players of the market are connected.

There will be plenty of rate cuts in the coming year. For example, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee expects "a much larger number of base interest rate cuts in 2025." This will ease the pressure on the economy and at the same time increase the activity of capital holders.


Bitcoin returns by month

Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee is just as optimistic about Bitcoin’s chances for growth in the last quarter. Here’s his latest rejoinder on the matter.

Bitcoin is expected to surpass its September highs in October, with a target price range of $58,000 to $72,000.

To back up this theory, Lee pointed to several compelling signs in the derivatives market, including the formation of negative funding rates on Bitcoin futures during September. He also brought up the fact that the Fear and Greed Index is in the “extreme fear” zone, which means cryptocurrency enthusiasts are in no hurry to open new positions with BTC.

Selby also noted that after the November 5 presidential election, the U.S. regulatory framework could get significant changes, which would create a favourable environment for crypto-innovation. So far, everything points to exactly that.

For example, during yesterday’s hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives, SEC spokeswoman Hester Pierce said that the SEC should have declared long ago that cryptocurrency tokens do not belong in the securities category.

Commissioner of the Securities Commission Hester Pierce

Thus she commented on the fresh statement of the regulator’s staff from mid-September. At that time they admitted that they did not mean to link coins to securities when they made such a statement.


Now major players are discovering a new asset category in cryptocurrencies in one way or another. We can assume that the growing popularity of coins among sophisticated investors was probably fuelled by the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US in early 2024. Still, this is more than convincing evidence of the reliability of such coins and their future potential.