Amid Bitcoin’s growth in 2024, Bitwise chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, recently made the claim that the “most important people in finance,” currently hold crypto. In a memo issued Tuesday, Hougan noted the massive shift that the industry has undergone in the last year. Specifically in who owns crypto.
Hougan notes the number of prominent individuals in finance allocating to crypto has only increased. Moreover, he discussed an interesting trend in who is buying Bitcoin and other tokens. Ultimately, Hougan noted that “things could get interesting quickly,” based on his past experience. And emphasized that this could be a sign of even more buying to come in the next several months.
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Bitwise CIO Says Finance Sector is Increasing Crypto Allocation Amid Notable Shift
In January, everything changed for cryptocurrencies. Indeed, the year started with the approach of Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. The first crypto-based ETF in the country, it opened the door of access for BTC to a new category of investor. Subsequently, the characteristics of a crypto investor changed drastically.
Now, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan recently said that “the most powerful people in finance are allocating to crypto.” The executive was recently reflecting in a speech given at Barron’s Advisor 100 Summit in Florida last week. He discussed how things have shifted for the asset, and those who own it.
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Hougan asked the audience gathered for his speech how many owned Bitcoins or other cryptos. He noted that the response greatly differs from the events of the past three years. During past speeches, maybe 10-20% would have raised their hands. This time, nearly everyone did.
“There’s a very sophisticated technical word that economists use for this kind of year-over-year phenomenon; whoa,” Hougan said. However, he noted fewer left their hands raised when asked if client accounts had been allocated to the asset class.
Although there may be a lag in financial advisor clients holding the asset, the same can’t be said for these advisors’ personal portfolios. That presents an interesting development and one that could begin to shift in the coming months. Hougan predicts it to change in 6-12 months. He states that his experience usually shows a small gap between the allocation trends of advisors and their clients.
