Cryptocurrencies were once a sideshow to retail investors, a concern to policymakers in Washington, D.C., and a derision to top Wall Street figures.
That changed in 2024.
Digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) are now owned and traded by ordinary Americans, just like stocks. Some of Wall Street’s biggest firms are hailing it as a smart investment. And the incoming administration in Washington, D.C., is promising major legislative changes to help the industry.
The widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies has been a huge boon for investors who have embraced it.
Bitcoin holders have risen 126% since the beginning of the year, as the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency set a new record and soared above $100,000 after the election of President Donald Trump. According to Coinmarketcap, the market value of all cryptocurrencies has ballooned by nearly $1.7 trillion.
“The crypto industry is all set right now,” Ian Katz, managing partner at Capital Alpha, told Yahoo Finance.
Enthusiasts don’t think the rally will end anytime soon.
This time next year, “we’re going to be having the same conversation about how Bitcoin is doing incredibly well,” Matt Hogan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, told Yahoo Finance. Bitwise expects Bitcoin to exceed $200,000 by the end of 2025.
One of Wall Street’s biggest beneficiaries of this change, BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink, was once a “proud skeptic” of Bitcoin. The boss of the world’s largest asset manager has grown to become one of its most famous supporters.
“I was a proud skeptic, so I researched it, I learned about it, and I came back saying, ‘Okay, my opinion for five years was wrong,'” Fink said earlier this year. He said this when discussing his views. With CNBC.
His firm, BlackRock, is currently recommending that interested investors invest “up to 2%” of their portfolio in Bitcoin.
“We believe Bitcoin is an asset class in its own right. It’s an alternative to other commodities such as gold,” Fink told analysts during an October earnings call.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink during an interview with CNBC in 2023. Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid ·Reuters/Reuters
BlackRock and 10 other asset management firms, including Fidelity Investments and Franklin Templeton, greenlit the launch of a Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in January, giving everyday investors ownership of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. We made it possible to gain exposure without having to do anything.
Since then, BlackRock’s ETF, IBIT, has become the fastest growing ETF in history. The 11 ETFs launched had $100 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 18, according to JPMorgan Research.
Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, told Yahoo: “There were people who were looking to allocate to Bitcoin, but there were traditional, reliable, easy and efficient ways to allocate money to their situation. They didn’t participate in it because there wasn’t.” finance. “And ETFs changed that.”
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BlackRock’s crypto efforts (the company also launched a small Spot Ether ETF in late July) coincided with an election year in which pro-crypto congressional candidates received a lot of support from the industry. . Some of the biggest names in the crypto industry, including Coinbase Global (COIN), Ripple, and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, have spent approximately $135 million through super PACs.
An illustration of US President-elect Donald Trump holding Bitcoin was displayed outside a cryptocurrency exchange after Bitcoin soared above $100,000 in Hong Kong. Reuters/Tyron Siu ·Reuters/Reuters
As a candidate, Trump also made many promises to the industry. He has vowed to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, one of the industry’s biggest adversaries. Appoint a Cryptocurrency Presidential Advisory Council. and establishing a “Strategic National Bitcoin Reserve” with support from Congress.
Whether the next president will make the U.S. government a Bitcoin holder or buyer remains a hotly debated topic.
However, Gensler has already tendered his resignation, and if approved, he will be replaced by prominent cryptocurrency lawyer Paul Atkins. Atkins has long made it clear that he supports clearer regulation of cryptocurrencies that doesn’t stifle innovation or impose unnecessary oversight.
President Trump also appointed venture capitalist David Sachs to the role of AI and cryptocurrency czar. Sachs has already backed many crypto and AI companies through his venture companies.
Several other Trump administration appointees have disclosed or discussed their exposure to cryptocurrencies in the past.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins, who was nominated to be SEC chairman under the Trump administration, in this 2008 photo. Reuters/Alessia Pierdomenico ·Reuters/Reuters
If these executive branch appointees aren’t enough, the industry is looking forward to what is arguably the most crypto-friendly Congress in history.
Nick Carter, partner and co-founder of crypto venture firm Castle Island Ventures, said: “People are shocked because we are a new industry and we have new influence in Washington. ” he told Yahoo Finance.
Republicans are expected to push forward with a pro-crypto bill that would provide clearer regulation of stablecoins and the broader crypto market, as well as give big banks a better route to handle digital assets. .
Carter met with Republican lawmakers to discuss the crypto industry’s lack of access to U.S. banks.
“We are an industry that has been relentlessly bullied over the past four years, so it’s natural for us to want to protect our interests,” he added.
The Capitol lit up in Washington, D.C., Dec. 19 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ·Related news organizations
However, many regulated U.S. banks still have no access to cryptocurrencies, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon noted at a recent Reuters conference.
“How the regulatory framework will evolve is anyone’s guess, but it’s still unclear how the regulatory framework will evolve,” Solomon added.
No one knows yet how long it will take for the first parts of the crypto bill to be introduced in the House, Senate, and to Trump.
“I want to warn people, if you think that on January 20th a switch will flip and everything will turn around and things will be rosy for Bitcoin and the digital asset community, that is not the way Washington works.”Crypto Investing said Anthony Scaramucci of the home. He worked in the first Trump administration, he told Yahoo Finance.
Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy Inc. CEO Reuters/Marco Bello/File Photo ·Reuters/Reuters
But these unknowns don’t give some cryptocurrency evangelists much pause.
“For the past four years, I’ve said every day, don’t buy Bitcoin, don’t sell Bitcoin. I’m going to buy more Bitcoin,” said Michael, chairman of MicroStrategy and a staunch Bitcoin bull. Saylor told Yahoo Finance this month.
“I will continue to buy Bitcoin at the highest price forever.”
Even some of Wall Street’s remaining skeptics admit it would have been wise to jump in sooner.
“Sure, you could have bought something that was trading at 100 times its price a few years ago, right?” Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said at the NYT Dealbook Summit earlier this month. Ta.
“We all have FOMO.”
David Hollerith is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering banking, cryptocurrencies, and other financial areas.
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Adnan is a passionate doctor from Pakistan with a keen interest in exploring the world of politics, sports, and international affairs. As an avid reader and lifelong learner, he is deeply committed to sharing insights, perspectives, and thought-provoking ideas. His journey combines a love for knowledge with an analytical approach to current events, aiming to inspire meaningful conversations and broaden understanding across a wide range of topics.
