Bitwise: Wow moment as the most powerful people in finance start holding cryptocurrencies

Last Friday, I had the great honor of delivering the keynote address at the Barron’s Advisor 100 Summit, which brings together the top financial advisors in the U.S. This was my third consecutive year speaking to this group, but it was my first time on the main stage—partly due to the launch of the Bitcoin ETF this year.

Whenever I give a talk, I like to start by assessing the room — whether the audience is crypto experts or newbies, supporters or skeptics. So I usually ask the following question: “By show of hands, how many people in this room own Bitcoin or other crypto assets in their personal portfolio?”

Two years ago, when I asked the same group this question, only a handful of hands went up—maybe 10 or 20 percent. Last year, it was about the same.

This year, almost every hand in the room went up. I don’t have the exact number, but I’d estimate at least 70% of the advisors in the room went up .

Economists have a very complicated technical word to describe this year-over-year increase: Wow.

To be clear: When I asked how many people in the same room had Bitcoin allocated in client accounts, very few raised their hands. Many of these advisors work for broker-dealers, which don’t even allow them to buy a Bitcoin ETF yet. But it will come. One thing I learned in my seven years at Bitwise is that advisors almost always allocate money in their personal accounts first. Client allocations typically come six to 12 months later.

There are plenty of bullish signs to point to right now — the Fed’s first rate cut in four years, the recent approval of a Bitcoin ETF by Morgan Stanley, one of the largest large-cap securities firms in the U.S., or the SEC’s recent approval of Bitcoin ETF options — but to me, the hand-raising in Palm Beach is one of the most powerful markers of this era. Those of us who live in crypto 24/7/365 may forget, but buying a little Bitcoin is incredibly powerful for people. Personal connections breed familiarity. When you hold and track Bitcoin in your portfolio, fear and repulsion often give way to curiosity, and eventually to comfort.

Most importantly, I took away from the event that a wave of the most powerful people in finance are finally starting to invest in cryptocurrencies. When this trend spreads from them to their clients, things will get interesting quickly.