Crypto vibes at the Exchange ETF event: Then and now
Are digital assets just part of “normal” finance conversations now?
ETFs finance companies vegas crypto funds Charles Schwab Fidelity
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While Casey was in DC, I traveled to Las Vegas for the Exchange ETF conference. I didn’t gamble, but rather spent time reflecting (through a crypto lens) on all that’s changed since I last attended the event three years ago.
Then…
In 2022, tech entrepreneur Pippa Malmgren kicked off the conference by labeling Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs as a “revolution in finance.”
Michael Saylor called a speech by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen bullish for digital assets. Fidelity revealed the launch dates for its crypto industry and metaverse ETFs. Meanwhile, then-Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said his firm wouldn’t rule out suing the SEC if the agency rejected its proposal to convert GBTC to an ETF.
Three years ago, crypto was a shiny object that TradFi was getting more acquainted with.
A couple months after that event in 2022, the SEC declined Grayscale’s bid, and the asset manager did indeed sue. The firm’s eventual legal victory would help lead to the approval of US spot BTC funds in January 2024. The crypto vibes at Exchange 2024 were thus strong, I was told, amid post-ETF launch euphoria.
…and now
As I strolled the main expo hall at Virgin Hotels this week, the crypto presence remained evident.
An F1 racecar (yes, a real one) sat in front of Kraken subsidiary CF Benchmarks’ booth. Franklin Templeton and VanEck gave away hats emblazoned with their crypto ETF tickers. On Grayscale’s table sat hardcover books detailing bitcoin’s investment case and FAQs.
Still, the crypto hype paled in comparison to last year, multiple people told me, as other topics like private credit and ETF share classes gained attention this time around. Perhaps, some optimistically opined, the tempered crypto fanfare means the maturing asset class is now considered just another segment in the broader investment ecosystem.
“It goes without saying [that] crypto’s a part of everybody’s conversation today,” TMX VettaFi’s Cinthia Murphy said — noting product development is moving fast.
By now, you know about all the single-asset spot crypto ETF filings (Fidelity added a solana proposal this week). And the plans for existing crypto index funds (i.e. from Franklin Templeton and Hashdex) to ultimately move beyond holding just BTC and ETH.
I chatted with Calamos, about its funds that offer bitcoin exposure with downside protection over a specific outcome period; and with Innovator, which last month brought to market a fund guarding against BTC losses greater than 20%.
ProShares, whose renowned bitcoin futures ETF was overshadowed when the SEC approved spot products, also had an Exchange booth. Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman said the firm has “innovative stuff coming,” declining to say more.
State Street Global Advisors didn’t wish to discuss possible future crypto products after introducing actively managed digital asset portfolios with Galaxy in September. But Chief Business Officer Anna Paglia shouted out the category on stage when urging advisers to explore beyond the traditional 60/40 portfolio.
“Look outside of that…whether it is alts, whether it is crypto, or whether it is something else,” she said. “Try to diversify away from what used to be comfortable.”
As for some of the other financial titans there, a Charles Schwab rep reiterated the company is “monitoring this space and the regulatory environment closely.” They added that Schwab “plans to offer spot crypto trading after the regulatory environment changes” and that it isn’t counting out launching a spot bitcoin ETF.
A Vanguard spokesperson, on the other hand, said its previously stated view on crypto (that it doesn’t belong in a well-balanced, long-term portfolio) hasn’t changed.
I asked an executive at JPMorgan Asset Management whether the firm was planning to offer crypto ETFs. Asking not to be named, he didn’t stutter: “No.”
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas kicked off a panel yesterday by asking the few hundred people in the room to raise their hand if they thought BTC would next hit $50,000 or $150,000. A clear majority (perhaps 70%) went with the latter.
He went on to ask whether the crowd thought BTC hitting $1 million per coin was more likely than it dropping to “zeroish.”
Nearly everyone who put a hand up took the bullish stance, minus two skeptics in the front row.
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