Galaxy Asset Management’s global head Steve Kurz expects top wirehouses to increase their involvement in spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs within the next year.
“I’d be surprised in the next year if the top 10 wirehouses are not involved in this… We will probably see institutional FOMO,” he told FOX Business on February 19 during the Exchange ETF Conference in Miami Beach, Florida.
The statement came as companies offering spot Bitcoin ETFs have been inundated with queries from financial advisers during the event.
Some Advisors Are Banned From Recommending Bitcoin ETFs
The report noted that some advisers are currently prohibited from recommending spot Bitcoin ETFs to clients until their respective firms conduct due diligence on the products and assess their market performance.
These existing restrictions leave room for potential institutional adoption in the future, as described by Kurz.
The term “wirehouse” lacks a precise definition, making it unclear which firms Kurz specifically expects to embrace spot Bitcoin ETFs.
However, according to Investopedia, prominent wirehouse firms include Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase.
Grayscale air show on Miami beach for their #Bitcoin ETF. Trillions are coming !pic.twitter.com/qIYKGFyiyt
— Anna_Crypto (@RUCryptoGirl) February 14, 2024
At present, several online brokerage and robo-advisor platforms, such as Fidelity, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, and eToro, facilitate the trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Galaxy Asset Management offers the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), which ranks as the sixth-largest fund of its kind, managing $314 million in assets.
The fund recorded a trading volume of $11.35 million on the day of reporting.
Major Issuers Discuss Their Bitcoin ETF Launch
The report added that that Bitwise, Grayscale, and Galaxy discussed their successful launches of spot Bitcoin ETFs during a panel, which attracted significant attention and participation from attendees.
It also covered the panel’s remarks on impending spot Ethereum ETFs.
Executives from all three firms expressed a 50% probability of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving a spot Ethereum ETF by May.
Specifically, during the Bitcoin panel discussion, Grayscale’s head of ETFs, Dave LaValle, was asked whether the company would sue the SEC again if it denied Grayscale’s request to convert its Ethereum Trust into a spot ETF.
LaValle said Grayscale would “have to wait and see and look at the facts,” adding that he put the odds of approval at 50% by May.
The SEC is scheduled to make a decision regarding VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF application on May 23, and it is expected to address other similar applications simultaneously.
As reported, spot Bitcoin ETFs witnessed a substantial influx of approximately $2.3 billion last week, nearly doubling the previous week’s inflow of $1.2 billion.
These inflows accounted for almost half of the total net inflow since the inception of BTC ETFs, which currently stand at approximately $5 billion.
According to Matteo Greco, research analyst at digital asset investment firm Fineqia International, the growing demand for BTC ETFs has fueled Bitcoin’s surge last week, which saw the leading cryptocurrency gain around 8% to close at approximately $52,150.
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