From Nasdaq, Inc.:

Experts from Grayscale, Tether, and the Chamber of Digital Commerce believe that the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF has made cryptocurrency relevant, bringing it closer to going mainstream. Despite the bullish expectations, Bitcoin prices have not kept up with industry predictions. Is this a surprise?

Brock Pierce, co-founder of Tether, sees the ETF approval as a big victory for American businesses and investors to access the market safely. There’s a growing appetite for experimenting with Bitcoin for daily use cases, but the probability of government intervention has decreased. This may not mean immediate adoption by other countries, but the desire to embrace Bitcoin exists at the national level.

David LaValle, Grayscale’s global head of ETFs, remains incredibly bullish on Bitcoin despite the outflows following the conversion of its trust into an exchange-traded fund. He hopes the SEC’s decision will set a precedent for Ethereum to follow, but the chances of a spot Ethereum ETF approval are only 50-50.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s pivot on digital assets from doubt to being a big believer was influenced by the market demand. This pivot has unlocked Bitcoin as an investable asset class, allowing funds to offer other financial products like Bitcoin options ETFs.

The panel at Benzinga’s virtual Crypto & Blockchain Outlook webinar agreed that while mainstream cryptocurrency investment products have not fully opened, Bitcoin will not replace the dollar despite potentially becoming a “sound money” base layer.

The relationship with regulators may not improve, as Stefan Rust, founder of Truflation, believes the SEC will continue to fight cryptocurrency entering the mainstream. MiCA, the EU’s cryptocurrency regulation framework, was praised by the panel but adds friction to the industry by imposing reporting requirements for transfers above 1,000 euros.

The panel fears that the U.S. may be too slow to provide regulatory clarity and could risk ceding its financial leadership. They urge for better cryptocurrency regulation to address accounting rules and crypto mixers.

In closing, the panel unanimously agreed that Bitcoin could become a “sound money” base layer but will not replace the dollar. The network effects of global dollar liquidity are too significant for Bitcoin to replace the dollar.



Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Is Crypto Mainstream Now? 4 Experts Weigh In At Benzinga’s Crypto & Blockchain Outlook