Bitcoin
‘Wall Street is greedy’: Tether co-founder predicts next ETFs after Bitcoin and Ethereum
Don’t expect crypto ETF momentum to slow following Bitcoin and Ethereum spot fund approvals in the US: Wall Street “greed” will bring more and more such products, says Tether and WAX co-founder William Quigley Decrypt this week.
Quigley predicted a proliferation of ETFs for other major cryptocurrencies such as Solana and Cardano, driven by Wall Street’s relentless pursuit of profit.
“Wall Street is greedy,” he said. “Every time Wall Street packages a new product to sell to consumers, if that product is successful, we can guarantee there will be copycats. There would be no ETFs if the Bitcoin ETF had failed.”
He added that Wall Street loves the “next new thing” because it’s something it can talk to its consumers about and sell its products. But if momentum eventually cools, Quigley expects ETF providers to shift focus to the next big trend.
“We will continue to see new ETFs launch until there is a major pullback,” he added. “So we will see some of these ETFs shut down by the companies that launched them due to lack of demand.”
The SEC’s long-awaited approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in January marked a significant milestone in the integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial markets. They allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the cryptocurrency, thus providing a more accessible and regulated investment vehicle.
This approval sparked significant interest and investment flows, highlighting the growing acceptance and institutional interest in digital assets.
The success of the Bitcoin ETF has paved the way for other crypto-related financial products, and the market has been eagerly awaiting similar developments for other similar products.
Anticipation for Ethereum ETFs has been particularly high, especially following positive signals from regulatory authorities. The funds received initial approval in late May, but will not begin trading until the funds’ S-1 registration forms are approved.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler On thursday indicated that the approval process for Ethereum ETFs could be completed by the end of the summer.
“Individual issuers are still working through the registration process which is working smoothly, and I anticipate that will occur sometime during the summer,” Gensler said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
TradFi steps in
Despite the growing attention from ETFs, Quigley expressed dissatisfaction with traditional finance’s growing involvement in the crypto space.
“I was happy with crypto without Wall Street,” he said. “Would it be smaller? Sure. But I didn’t feel the need to keep increasing the size of the encryption right now.”
He warned that aggressive marketing of crypto products on Wall Street could lead to significant risks, especially if institutional investors withdraw during market crises.
Despite his reservations about Wall Street’s involvement, Quigley recognized that a significant inflow of capital is essential for substantial market growth.
“If you want a huge amount of capital, then yes, you have to do things like ETFs,” he admitted.
While the ETF hype was partially credited with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high price above $73,700 in March, along with the anticipation of the quadrennial halving event in April, BTC has yet to seriously challenge that mark again in recent years. following months – and fell this week at a current price of just under $67,000.
But the price of Bitcoin typically rises six months or more after the halving, which restricts supply expansion as the impacts of this event begin to be felt. Quigley believes historical patterns will also continue along this path.
“It can’t go up because it’s not the right time,” he said, predicting a significant price increase ahead.
Edited by Andrew Hayward