Regulation
WisdomTree CEO Believes Regulatory Clarity Under Trump Will Make Bitcoin ‘Mainstream’
Tree of wisdom CEO Jonathan Steinberg believes that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are on the verge of mainstream adoption and will reach that status in the coming years.
Steinberg expressed his belief on a CNBC show on July 29 interviewciting regulatory clarity, the emergence of exchange-traded crypto funds and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) as the main catalysts for this trend.
Regulatory clarity
During the interview, Steinberg stressed the importance of the former president Donald J. Trump speech delivered at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 27 and the ripple effects it will have on the industry in the long term.
According to WisdomTree CEO, Trump ambitious promise of regulatory clarity The introduction of cryptocurrency and digital assets has marked a turning point for the industry. He added that such regulatory frameworks will have a profoundly positive impact on both cryptocurrency as an asset class and blockchain-based finance in general.
Steinberg said:
“[Trump] “He couldn’t have spoken more ambitiously about what he would do with crypto and Bitcoin as an asset class.”
He also highlighted that Bitcoin is the best performing asset class in 15 years and will continue to outperform the market, further fueling its adoption as it gains regulatory acceptance.
Steinberg said Bitcoin is the natural evolution of money, just as smartphones replaced landlines; he predicts that digital assets will eventually become the dominant form of transaction.
He added:
“In terms of money, there was gold, then there was paper money. We are moving towards programmable money, which will really transform financial services as a whole.”
Real-world assets
Steinberg also pointed out that the discourse around cryptocurrency is expanding beyond basic assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum to include a broader range of tokenized real assets.
He explained:
“Cryptocurrencies are an asset class, and then there’s this broader tokenization of all real-world assets. We see all of that converging.”
Steinberg noted that traditional financial institutions are already venturing into the RWA market, citing examples like BlackRock’s BUIDL and Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX. Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs is also set to launch three new tokenization products later this year for institutional clients.
According to McKinsey & Company, the RWA market is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030. However, the firm also said the industry is facing a “cold start“problem, mainly due to limited liquidity and limited trading volume.