Bitwise CIO: What made skeptics decide to buy Bitcoin?

Written by Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer, Bitwise

 

Compiler: Luffy, Foresight News

 

Earlier this month, I gave my closing speech at the end of the first day of a national brokerage conference.

 

This in itself is noteworthy. The Big Four (Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and UBS) control more than $10 trillion in client assets, and these platforms have yet to give their advisors easy access to Bitcoin ETFs. But as the keynote invitations I received suggested, that is rapidly changing.

 

In fact, I expect all four of these big brokerages to have Bitcoin ETF business by the end of the year. This is one of the reasons why I still expect Bitcoin ETFs to set a new record for net inflows this year, although there have been "only" $3.7 billion in net inflows so far in 2025 compared to $35 billion in 2024.

 

I am not writing this article to discuss the problems of brokers. Instead, I wanted to share the story of one listener.

 

If everyone stops believing in Bitcoin, what will I end up with?

 

The best part of a presentation often comes at the end. You walk off the stage hoping to hear applause, and you're usually surrounded by a crowd of people who want to follow up with questions. These questions are the best.

 

At the end of the event, one person waited patiently for the other twenty or thirty people to take turns asking questions. Then, he said:

 

"I listened to your words and felt it made sense. But I just can't get over the mental barrier."

 

This is a very common emotion. People rationally understand the reasons to invest in Bitcoin and find it attractive, but there is always something stopping them from buying it.

 

After delving into his concerns, we figured out what that "thing" was: he was worried about what would happen to Bitcoin if everyone stopped believing in it.

 

"If this 'music' stops, how much will Bitcoin be worth?" He asked.

 

The answer, of course, is worthless. If no one in the world wants to hold Bitcoin, then the value of Bitcoin is zero.

 

I pointed out that the same is true for gold and other assets, but he insists that it is different. Maybe he's right, for gold, you at least have that glittering physical thing; But with Bitcoin, you really don't have anything.

 

Honestly, I've thought the same thing before, and I suspect most Bitcoin investors do, that the physical-free nature of Bitcoin is a real challenge.

 

My advice: write it down

 

As my new friend prepares to leave, still with a tangled look on his face, I ask him a simple question: What are the requirements? In other words, how would he believe that Bitcoin would persist?

 

For some, their answer to this question can make them realize that they will never buy Bitcoin. If you're waiting for Bitcoin to be more popular than gold...... Or wait for its volatility to be close to zero...... Then you'll never buy Bitcoin.

 

But if you don't have these obstacles, it's worth asking seriously: what are the requirements?

 

Is it institutional custody? Today, publicly traded companies like Coinbase and well-known institutions like Fidelity are hosting Bitcoin, and financial giants like BNY Mellon are not far behind.

 

Is it an institutional transaction? Today, Bitwise conducts crypto trading business with established companies such as Jane Street and Cumberland/DRW.

 

Is it institutional adoption? Today, nine of the world's top ten hedge funds hold Bitcoin, in addition to Emory University (with an endowment of $11 billion), the Texas Faculty Retirement System (with $210 billion in assets under management), and investment community giants like Ray Dalio and Stan Druckenmiller, among many others.

 

Is it the involvement of large asset managers? Are companies like BlackRock and Invesco enough?

 

Is it enterprise adoption? There are Strategy, Block, Tesla, Tesla, and more than eighty other public companies that are involved.

 

Is it easy to obtain? There are already Bitcoin ETFs.

 

Is it an investment model adoption? BlackRock is now recommending investors to allocate 2% of Bitcoin to their portfolios.

 

Is it regulatory stability? Legislation on market structure is expected to be passed by Congress this year.

 

Is it government adoption? The United States is building a strategic bitcoin reserve.

 

Whatever the condition, write it down. Because if you look back a few years ago, we used to think that things like the U.S. government holding Bitcoin or the world's largest asset managers accepting this asset seemed out of reach, but now we've seen these things happen.

 

My friend thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm going to buy Bitcoin."

 

I think a lot of people will come to the same conclusion this year.

Related wikis

 

This article is sourced from Foresight News:

https://foresightnews.pro/article/detail/83588

Respectfully submitted by the AIC Team

May5, 2025