Top wirehouses will become involved with spot Bitcoin ETFs, Galaxy executive says

A representative from Galaxy has predicted that spot Bitcoin ETFs will gain further adoption in the coming months, as reported by FOX Business on Feb. 19.

Steve Kurz, global head of Galaxy Asset Management, said:

“I’d be surprised in the next year if the top 10 wirehouses are not involved in this … We will probably see institutional FOMO.”

FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett contextualized that statement by noting that companies that offer spot Bitcoin ETFs have been “inundated with questions from financial advisers.”

She noted that some advisers are not currently allowed to recommend spot Bitcoin ETFs to clients because their firms must first perform due diligence on the products and their market performance. Current restrictions seemingly leave room for the future institutional adoption described above.

Because the term “wirehouse” is not clearly defined, it is not clear precisely which firms Kurz expects to adopt spot Bitcoin ETFs. Investopedia notes that the term is anachronistic but lists leading wirehouse firms as Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase.

According to Investopedia, a number of online brokerage and robo-advisor platforms currently trade spot Bitcoin ETFs, including Fidelity, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, eToro, and others.

Galaxy offers the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO). The fund is the sixth largest of its type, with $314 million in assets under management. It saw $11.35 million in trading volume today.

Crypto was a key focus at Miami event

Terrett obtained Kurz’s comments during the Exchange ETF Conference in Miami Beach, Florida. She added that Bitwise, Grayscale, and Galaxy discussed their successful spot Bitcoin ETF launches during a panel and called this the most “well-attended panel of the entire conference.”

Terrett previously reported the panel’s comments on pending spot Ethereum ETFs. According to that earlier report, executives at all three firms predict a 50% chance that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a spot Ethereum ETF by May.

The SEC must decide on VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF application on May 23 and is expected to rule on other similar applications simultaneously. It is not required to approve any ETF at that time.