Ethereum
“Wall Street is greedy”: Tether co-founder predicts the next ETFs after Bitcoin and Ethereum
Don’t expect crypto ETF momentum to slow down after Bitcoin and Ethereum spot funds are approved in the US: Wall Street ‘greed’ will bring more and more products of this type, says William Quigley , co-founder of Tether and WAX. Decrypt this week.
Quigley predicted a proliferation of ETFs for other top cryptocurrencies like Solana and Cardano, driven by Wall Street’s relentless pursuit of profit.
“Wall Street is greedy,” he said. “Anytime Wall Street introduces a new product to sell to consumers, if that product is successful, you can guarantee there will be imitators. There would be no ETF if the Bitcoin ETF had failed.
He added that Wall Street loves “the next big thing” because it’s something they can talk to their consumers about and sell their products. But if the momentum eventually cools, Quigley expects ETF providers to focus on the next big trend.
“We will continue to see new ETFs being launched until there is a significant pullback,” he added. “Then you will see some of these ETFs closed by the companies that launched them due to lack of demand.”
The SEC’s long-awaited approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States in January marked a significant milestone in the integration of cryptocurrencies into traditional financial markets. They allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the cryptocurrency, 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 paved the way for other crypto-related financial products, and the market was eagerly awaiting similar developments for other similar products.
Anticipation for Ethereum ETFs has been particularly high, particularly 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.
Gary Gensler, SEC Chairman THURSDAY indicated that the approval process for Ethereum ETFs could be completed by the end of summer.
“Individual issuers are still working on the registration process going smoothly, and I envision that over the summer,” Gensler said during a Senate hearing Thursday.
TradFi intervenes
Despite the increased focus on ETFs, Quigley expressed displeasure 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 crypto now.”
He warned that Wall Street’s aggressive marketing of crypto products could lead to significant risks, particularly if institutional investors pull out during market downturns.
Despite his reservations about Wall Street’s involvement, Quigley acknowledged that a large influx of capital is essential for substantial market growth.
“If you want a massive amount of capital, then yes, you have to do things like ETFs,” he conceded.
While the ETF hype was partially credited with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high price above $73,700 in March, alongside anticipation of April’s quadrennial halving event, BTC has yet to seriously challenge that mark in the months since – and is down this week to a current price of just under $67,000.
But the price of Bitcoin typically rises six months or more after the halving, limiting supply expansion as the impacts of this event begin to be felt. Quigley believes that historical patterns will also continue on this path.
“It can’t go higher because it’s not the right time,” he said, predicting a significant price rise to come.
Edited by Andrew Hayward