Key Takeaways
- Bitwise CEO will join other industry leaders to discuss a potential US Bitcoin reserve initiative with Senator Lummis.
- The regulatory environment for digital assets in the US is becoming more constructive, with favorable conditions for Bitcoin investment in Q1 2024.
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Senator Cynthia Lummis is actively working on a bill related to a US Bitcoin reserve and has scheduled a gathering on March 11 in Washington DC to discuss the initiative with industry leaders, said Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley on CNBC’s Fast Money this week.
When asked about the current status of the potential establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the US, given the perceived lack of activity, Horsley confirmed that the concept is “definitely in play.”
“It’s one of the items to evaluate. That was in Trump’s executive order shortly after he was inaugurated. It’s one of the items on Treasury’s agenda,” Horsley said. “And then Senator Lummis is working on a bill around that.”
“She’s actually having a gathering on March 11 where a bunch of, myself, and a number of other CEOs will be in DC to discuss the initiative,” he added.
Horsley also noted growing Bitcoin adoption across nations, pointing to the recent Bitcoin purchase made by Mubadala Investment Company. According to its latest SEC disclosure, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund invested approximately $437 million in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
According to Bitwise’s co-founder, around 11 countries now have some level of Bitcoin exposure. This fact reinforces the legitimacy of Bitcoin as a strategic asset.
“Believe it or not, it’s very real,” he said.
Bitcoin is on sale
Bitcoin has experienced fluctuations in recent weeks amid macroeconomic uncertainty. On Thursday, BTC dropped below $80,000 for the first time since November.
Discussing Bitcoin’s price volatility, Horsley said it’s a well-known characteristic of the digital asset, yet it still surprises people.
He noted that historically, the first quarter has been the best time for investors to enter the Bitcoin market, a trend that Bitwise has observed among its clients.
Horsley also predicted that more traditional investors, including wealth managers, asset managers, and banks, would engage with Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF and the broader asset class during this period of price fluctuations.
“I think price is always a story in this space. If you remember back to when the Bitcoin ETF launched, it went from $46,000 to $39,000 and people said, OK, maybe it was a buy the rumor, sell the news story,” Horsley said.
“And then it worked its way back up to where it was more recently. So I think…there’s never been a better time for this asset class,” he added.
Regulation as a key factor
While acknowledging the prominence of price, Horsley sees regulation as the most prominent story in the Bitcoin market at this point.
The regulatory environment for digital assets has shifted positively, as evidenced by the SEC’s recent dismissals of enforcement cases against Coinbase and Uniswap, Horsley emphasized. He described this moment as remarkable.
“I think the story right now is regulation. It’s the most obvious thing. It’s a sea change since the inauguration. The White House, the Congress, and the SEC have flipped to a constructive level that has never been true before,” Horsley said.
“It’s almost hard to imagine Washington DC being positive about Bitcoin and crypto,” he said.
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