Kimberly Greenberg, Head of Marketing at CoinDesk Indices, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel, to discuss the year in crypto from one Consensus conference to the next.
The 2024 Consensus conference had 15,000 attendees from 100 countries, 750 media, and a substantial representation of regulators as speakers. The mood of the crypto market changed dramatically from May 2023 to May 2024, as bitcoin rose from $27,000 to over $65,000, and Ether rose from $1,900 to over $3,700. At CoinDesk’s May 2023 Consensus conference, a prevailing question was “Why invest in crypto?” as the SEC was in litigation with multiple parties and the market was recovering from the fallout of the FTX scandal. By the May 2024 conference, spot bitcoin ETFs had been approved and raised nearly $60 billion, bad actors had been washed out, and the question had become, “Why aren’t you investing in crypto?”
CoinDesk’s 2024 Consensus conference featured a day of speakers specifically for financial advisors, both those experienced in crypto and those new to the space. When financial advisors ask if it is too late to invest in digital assets, Greenberg responds that it is still early to invest in an exciting market. When researching this market, advisors express a need to become educated on the space, with access to timely and relevant information, unbiased news and education, and to network with peers who have experience in this market.
There are three possible market developments after the successful launch of the spot bitcoin ETFs. Now that investors have access to bitcoin beta through spot ETFs, smart beta and alpha-seeking active bitcoin funds may be launched. Spot Ethereum ETFs have been approved, but many investors may still invest directly in Ether tokens in order to earn the staking yield that is not yet available in the ETFs. Investors will also seek out CoinDesk Indices to gauge the return to the crypto market beyond the two-thirds of market cap represented by bitcoin and Ethereum. The CoinDesk 20 Index has already attracted $5 billion in trading volume in the perpetual futures market. The CoinDesk bitcoin price Index has been ticking since 2014.
This interview was filmed May 30, 2024
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