Traditional financial markets won’t survive without RWA tokenization
Opinion by: Abdul Rafay Gadit, co-founder of ZIGChainAmerica’s tariff regime has apparently fueled a global trade war, forcing investors to explore stable, yield-generating alternatives. A closer look reveals that illiquidity, opacity and scalability challenges have plagued global financial markets for long. They weren’t in great shape anyway, trade war or no trade war.Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have risen to this occasion — thankfully. For one, they ensure predictable yields, providing a haven for investors amid uncertain market conditions and unproductive volatility. Above all, though, RWAs are a lifeboat for legacy finance, as they enhance market liquidity, bring transparency to opaque markets, and make finance more democratic. Traditional financial markets need to integrate — not resist — RWAs to stay relevant in the coming decade. RWAs to the rescueIn legacy finance, capital’s “computability” occurs through slow, expensive and unreliable intermediaries like banks. For example, these entities are primarily unable to rebalance portfolios quickly. This limits market scope, and consumers bear significant losses. There are persistent trust issues across the board, while fund managers face immense administrative burdens in handling clients. The bottom line: Everyone suffers, except the value-sucking go-betweens. That’s a big reason fundraising in private equity, a key pillar of global financial markets, declined 24% in 2024, per McKinsey’s report. Likewise, as the SIFMA 2025 Capital Markets Outlook revealed, US equity issuance has decreased by 0.6% annually since 2020. Initial public offerings have been down 8.5% during this period. RWAs fix these. They make portfolio management more straightforward and seamless, with scalable capital deployment even in turbulent markets. Tokenization automates verifiable transactions, enabling precise, deterministic, trustless economies — turning the status quo on its head. It also provides investors with low-risk, low-cost and rapid access to existing and emerging global financial markets. Recent: 5 ways real-world asset tokenization is transforming TradFiNo wonder onchain RWAs increased 85% to over $15 billion in 2024. And this trend still has momentum. RWAs are poised to remain a top investment category in crypto.RWAs reached a new all-time high recently, surpassing $17 billion, with over 82,000 asset holders. Notably, tokenized private credit is the largest asset in the RWA industry, with over $11 billion in valuation. It’s clear that investors chose RWAs in the face of a $10-billion liquidation and general, persistent market volatility. Moreover, this asset class is making private credit great again, laying the foundation for future financial markets.“Smart money” bets on RWAs JPMorgan, BlackRock, UBS, Citi, Goldman Sachs — all the big names in legacy finance have moved into RWAs. Capital inflows from such “smart money” entities helped onchain private credit grow 40% last year, while tokenized treasuries surged 179% overall.All this could very well be routine diversification and capital expansion. But funds like Franklin Templeton’s Franklin Onchain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) and BlackRock’s US dollar Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) signal a more long-term motive. Initiatives like FOBXX and BUIDL are focused on transforming money markets through lower settlement times, easier liquidity access, better trading environments and other improvements. They leverage tokenization to introduce novel yield-generating opportunities in traditionally illiquid markets like the private credit sector. As data from PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests, this could be a $1.5-trillion disruption. S&P Global also believes private credit tokenization is the “new digital frontier” that solves liquidity and transparency issues.RWAs are thus emerging as a viable, more lucrative alternative for institutional investors, who control nearly one-fourth of the $450-trillion legacy financial market. That’s a strong enough waking sign — plus there’s increasing demand from “retail” users (i.e., the remaining three-fourths of the pie).Retail is the end-game for RWAsInstitutional adoption is excellent for building initial awareness around RWAs. Like it or not, their actions move the needle. In the long run, however, individual retail users stand to benefit most from RWAs. RWAs make capital markets accessible to grassroots investors, including unbanked populations. Fractional ownership, for instance, lets those with smaller capital holdings get exposure to high-ticket assets otherwise reserved for wealthy family offices and institutions.Because of these benefits, retail users will choose RWAs over traditional, exclusive financial assets and markets. And now it’s a no-brainer for them, thanks to solutions like social investing platforms, which give users intuitive, hassle-free access to novel financial opportunities. Multiple reports from Mastercard to Tren Finance and VanEck showcase RWAs’ massive growth potential. It could be anywhere between $50 billion and $30 trillion over the next four to five years. Widespread retail adoption will drive this growth, and unless traditional markets adapt or adopt RWAs, they will lose the vast majority of their users. With institutional and retail capital moving into this emerging sector, it’s genuinely do-or-die for legacy systems.Robust tools and platforms that leverage RWAs to bridge the gap between traditional and emerging financial markets are available now. That makes it a question of intent and priority more than anything else. Catch up or become obsolete — that’s the message. It’s the wartime arc, as it has been long due. The best part is that legacy assets coming onchain and markets leveraging RWAs will be a win-win for issuers, institutions and retail users. That’s what the world needs from a financial standpoint. It’s worth all the effort.Opinion by: Abdul Rafay Gadit, co-founder of ZIGChain.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
SEC dropping XRP case was ‘priced in’ since Trump’s election: Analysts
The crypto community is buzzing with excitement after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it would be dropping its legal action against Ripple, ending a four-year-long legal battle. This news has been long-awaited by investors and industry watchers alike, but some experts believe that the market may have already priced in this development months ago.
According to Dmitrij Radin, founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum, a regulatory and blockchain infrastructure firm, the outcome of the SEC’s case against Ripple may not have as big of an impact on the market as expected. He believes that the market had already accounted for this development since President Trump’s election, and that the recent announcement may not have a significant effect on prices.
Radin’s sentiments are echoed by other analysts, who attribute the lack of momentum in the XRP token to investors already expecting an end to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs. Additionally, the current market sentiment and uncertainty may also be contributing to the token’s lackluster performance.
However, despite the lack of immediate price movement, some technical chart patterns suggest a potential 75% rally for XRP after the end of the SEC’s lawsuit. This could see the token reaching a target of $4.35 by June, up from its current price levels.
While the immediate impact on prices may be limited, the overturning of the SEC’s case against Ripple will have a long-term positive effect on the market. This is due to the change in narrative and expectations of a more crypto-friendly SEC, according to Radin.
In conclusion, while the market may have already priced in the SEC’s decision to drop its case against Ripple, the long-term effects are expected to be positive for the crypto industry. This news marks a significant milestone for Ripple and its investors, and could potentially lead to a more favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in the future.
XRP price chart hints at 75% gains next as SEC ends lawsuit against Ripple
XRP (XRP) has been on a strong upward trend in the past two weeks, with a 30% increase in price. This surge has been driven by a rebound in the overall cryptocurrency market and the resolution of Ripple’s long-standing legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The recent price action of XRP also indicates the formation of a symmetrical triangle pattern, a classic bullish continuation setup. This pattern typically occurs after a strong uptrend and is characterized by a consolidation within converging trendlines. According to technical analysis, this setup is likely to result in a breakout above the upper trendline, potentially leading to a 75% increase in price by June.
However, a drop below the lower trendline could invalidate this bullish setup and push XRP towards a bearish target of $1.28. This target is obtained by subtracting the maximum height of the triangle from the potential breakdown point at $2.35.
The positive technical outlook for XRP is also supported by recent developments in the cryptocurrency’s fundamentals. The SEC’s decision to drop its appeal against Ripple and the launch of the first CFTC-regulated XRP futures in the US have boosted market sentiment and increased liquidity for the asset.
However, Ripple still faces a legal hurdle in the form of an injunction that restricts the company from selling XRP to institutional investors. This could potentially limit Ripple’s ability to distribute XRP directly to banks and financial institutions, hindering its growth potential.
In conclusion, while XRP’s technicals and fundamentals are currently pointing towards a bullish outlook, investors should conduct their own research and be aware of the potential risks involved in cryptocurrency investments.
Inside ‘eccentric’ Ripple founder’s multibillion-dollar space station plan
The serial entrepreneur who founded the Mt. Gox crypto exchange and co-founded Ripple has shared new details about his ambitious space station company Vast, which he hopes will help expand the human race into a multi-planetary species.In a March 20 interview with Bloomberg, Jed McCaleb confirmed that Vast is on track to launch Haven-1 — a commercial space station still under construction — into orbit by May 2026.If McCaleb’s startup succeeds, it will be better positioned to win a lucrative contract from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to replace the International Space Station. Contracts are expected to be handed out in mid-2026.If Vast fails or loses the NASA contract to a competitor, McCaleb could see $1 billion wiped from his net worth and the commercial future of his space station firm would be in doubt, according to the report. “There are not that many folks who are willing to dedicate the amount of resources and time and risk tolerance that I am,” McCaleb told Bloomberg.Vast’s founder, board chair and tech fellow Jed McCaleb. Source: VastMcCaleb is known to be a “deliberate risk-taker” with hyperrational tendencies, according to long-time friend and former business partner Sam Yagan, who added:“He’s maybe slightly eccentric in his willingness to take what you and I would see as a lot of risks.”McCaleb’s aspiration to put humans on other planets draws similarities to multibillionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.“It’s super important that people take this leap from where we are today to this potential world where there’s a lot of people living off the Earth,” said McCaleb, who founded Vast in 2021.Vast is building its spacecraft with components developed by SpaceX, such as a docking adapter to connect SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to Vast’s station and an in-space internet system that will provide WiFi on the station via Starlink.Key specifications Vast’s Haven-1 model. Source: VastMcCaleb’s firm has also booked SpaceX flights to send its hardware into orbit and deliver crew to its station, and SpaceX has agreed to carry astronauts for Vast as long as NASA gives its go-ahead.Vast’s close ties to SpaceX stem partly from it hiring key personnel who previously worked there, including Max Haot, who now serves as Vast’s CEO and president.Vast is competing with the likes of Axiom Space, Voyager Space Holdings, Lockheed Martin and the Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin to win the next major NASA contract.McCaleb also wants to create ‘artificial gravity’Part of Vast’s long-term plans is to create artificial gravity replicating Earth-like conditions by accelerating or rotating the spacecraft, as many ISS workers who have spent lengthy periods in space have reported organ damage.The ISS also uses a technology that recycles wastewater into potable water and carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. Haven-1 won’t feature this due to its short-term crew visits, but Vast plans to incorporate it into its future model, Haven-2, by 2028, which will be designed for longer-term stays.Both McCaleb and Haot say they’re willing to board flights themselves.Related: SETI, NASA scientists think AI could teach aliens about EarthMcCaleb has followed an unconventional pathway into the space industry.After McCaleb’s first success with the internet file-sharing service eDonkey in the 2000s, his next notable achievement was founding Mt. Gox in 2010.His time at Mt. Gox was short-lived, with McCaleb selling a majority stake in 2011. Mt. Gox went on to become the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) exchange until 2014 when a $400 million hack sent the company into bankruptcy.Several months later, McCaleb began his next venture — creating the XRP (XRP) crypto token on the Ripple protocol in 2012.McCaleb owned 9% of the XRP tokens from the onset but sold the majority of them after 2013 when he left Ripple following disagreements with the company’s other founders.He has netted billions of dollars from those XRP sales and Ripple equity between 2014 and 2022.McCaleb also founded the Stellar network in 2014 — a fork of the Ripple protocol — along with the Stellar (XLM) crypto token, which now boasts an $8.7 billion market cap, CoinGecko data shows.Magazine: Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin?
Venture capital firms invest $400M in TON blockchain
Update (March 20 at 4:41 PM UTC): This article has been updated to clarify that the token sale was not directed at the TON Foundation. The Open Network Foundation, also known as TON Foundation, said several venture capital firms invested more than $400 million in the TON blockchain, signaling growing interest in the Telegram messaging ecosystem. Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere and Karatage participated in the investment by purchasing Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network. TON Foundation described the token purchases as strategic partnerships that will help expand the TON ecosystem, though no further details were provided.TON blockchain is a decentralized network that supports the development of Mini Apps for the Telegram ecosystem. Although TON was initially developed by Telegram’s founders, it now operates as an independent chain. As of January, Toncoin is Telegram’s only accepted crypto for app services.TON blockchain has seen significant growth over the past year, with native accounts rising from 4 million to 41 million. TON Foundation claims that the Toncoin cryptocurrency has more than 121 million unique holders. According to the announcement, TON Foundation seeks to onboard 30% of active Telegram users to the blockchain in the next three years. By March, Telegram had 1 billion monthly active users, doubling in just under three years. Source: DemandsageBenchmark partner Peter Fenton said Telegram’s user base is expected to eclipse 1.5 billion by 2030. Related: Toncoin surges as Pavel Durov leaves France after monthsVenture capital deals on the riseVenture capital funding continues to pour into blockchain projects as the industry gains newfound legitimacy in the United States and other markets. According to Simon Wu, partner at the San Francisco-based venture firm Cathay Innovation, crypto and blockchain projects “are gaining traction as viable solutions, especially in financial sectors like asset management, transactions, and tokenization.”As legitimacy grows, capital follows.Cointelegraph reported earlier this month that crypto venture capital deals topped $1.1 billion in February amid renewed interest in decentralized finance services.Blockchain projects specializing in business services and DeFi attracted the lion’s share of venture financing in February. Source: The TIEThe latest Cointelegraph VC Roundup also showcased growing venture capital interest in decentralized physical infrastructure networks and real-world assets.Related: Crypto VCs are ‘especially bullish’ on DePIN, RWAs — HashKey Capital
Kraken nears $1.5B deal allowing it to offer US crypto futures: Report
Crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly closing in on a $1.5 billion acquisition of trading platform NinjaTrader, a move that would expand Kraken’s customer base and enable it to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the US.The deal could be confirmed by the morning of March 20 in the US, The Wall Street Journal said in a March 19 report, citing people familiar with the matter.Kraken’s expanded offerings would be made possible through NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant. The move would help Kraken’s strategy to work across several asset classes — including plans for equities trading and payments — while enabling NinjaTrader to expand into the UK, continental Europe and Australian markets, the sources told WSJ.NinjaTrader is expected to remain a standalone platform under Kraken.Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken and NinjaTrader for comment but did not receive an immediate response. Source: Wall Street Journal MarketsKraken posted $1.5 billion in revenue and $665 billion in trading volume from 2.5 million funded customer accounts on its platform in 2024, while NinjaTrader recently said its futures trading tools are used by over 1.8 million customers.Kraken announced its intention to broaden its product offerings and services last November when it shuttered its non-fungible token marketplace.Related: Australia fines Kraken operator $5M for regulatory breachesIt comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3 after it initially alleged that the crypto platform acted as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange and clearing agency. The suit was dismissed with prejudice, with no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid and no changes to Kraken’s business. Kraken is one of many firms that stand to benefit from a more relaxed regulatory environment in the US under President Donald Trump, who has promised to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.The crypto exchange was founded in 2011 by Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager and former CEO Jesse Powell, who handed the reins over to former data analytics executive Amir Orad last July.Kraken consistently ranks among the top seven to 15 largest crypto exchanges by spot trading volume, handling between $390 million and $4.4 billion in daily trades over the past three months, according to CoinGecko data.Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?
Volatility Shares launching Solana futures ETFs March 20
Volatility Shares is launching two Solana (SOL) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT), on March 20.According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, SOLZ will feature a management fee of 0.95% until June 30, 2026, when the management fee will increase to 1.15%.Volatility Shares’ 2X Solana ETF gives investors twice the leverage and will feature a 1.85% management fee.Volatility Shares Solana ETF SEC filing. Source: SECThe filings represent the first Solana-based ETFs in the US and follow the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group’s debut of SOL futures contracts.Following a leadership change at the SEC and the reelection of Donald Trump as president of the United States, asset managers and ETF firms have submitted a torrent of ETF applications to the SEC for approval.Related: Solana’s 5th birthday: From pandemic origins to US crypto stockpileCME Group debuts SOL futuresSOL futures went live on March 17 with a trading volume of approximately $12.1 million on the first day.For context, Bitcoin (BTC) futures debuted at over $102 million in volume on the first day of trading, and Ether (ETH) futures garnered over $30 million the day they launched.Despite the relatively low volume, SOL futures contracts could help boost demand for the cryptocurrency from institutional investors and encourage price discovery.SOL futures volume and open interest. Source: Chicago Mercantile ExchangeThe launch of SOL futures signaled the approval of SOL ETFs in the United States as financial regulators embrace digital assets amid a policy pivot.According to Chris Chung, founder of Titan — a Solana-based swap platform — the CME’s futures indicate that SOL is now a mature asset capable of attracting institutional interest.Chung added that the launch of SOL futures and ETFs position Solana as a blockchain network poised for real-world use cases such as payments, not just a memecoin casino.ETFs could also allow investor capital to flow into SOL, creating a sustained rally in the altcoin that competitors lacking an ETF might miss out on.The launch of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 is widely believed to have siloed institutional capital away from the rest of the crypto market, preventing capital rotation from BTC into altcoins and upending altseason.Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge
Hive doubles down on BTC hodl strategy amid miner equity dilution, debt reliance
Data center infrastructure provider Hive Digital is doubling down on its long-term Bitcoin treasury strategy and is using the recent market sell-off to expand its mining capacity and acquisition targets, signaling a growing shift among public miners to retain their mined assets. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Hive Digital’s chief financial officer, Darcy Daubaras, said the company remains focused on “retaining a significant portion of its mined Bitcoin to benefit from potential price appreciation.” This requires an active approach to treasury management to optimize liquidity in the face of steep market corrections, such as Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent 30% drop. However, a long-term Bitcoin hodl strategy is better than “[relying] more on debt or equity dilution for funding,” which is common in the mining industry, said Daubaras.As Cointelegraph reported, public miners have increasingly shifted to equity dilution — or issuing new shares to raise capital — as part of a broad deleveraging process due to high interest rates and declining creditworthiness. Absent these strategies, miners are usually forced to aggressively sell their mined Bitcoin to fund their operations or expansion. While Hive isn’t opposed to selling some of its Bitcoin holdings — it did so to fund the acquisition of Bitfarms’ 200-megawatt facility in Paraguay — it’s better to “selectively sell Bitcoin to fund accretive investments, [which] creates a balance of growing our operations and positioning ourselves for long-term success,” said Daubaras.Source: Frank HolmesHive added more Bitcoin to its balance sheet in the final quarter of 2024, increasing its “hodl” position to 2,805 BTC.Related: BTC miners adopted ‘treasury strategy,’ diversified business in 2024: ReportImportance of diversification, scalabilityBull market conditions make it easier for miners to stack their Bitcoin, but long-term success requires navigating the minefield of volatile prices, growing competition, and rising electricity and hardware costs. To combat these and other challenges, Hive has revamped its business model to include AI data centers and has prioritized renewable energy sources.Hive Digital executives told Cointelegraph in September that the company repurposed a portion of its Nvidia GPUs for AI tasks, which can generate more than $2.00 per hour compared to just $0.12 per hour for crypto mining.Other miners have followed suit, including Core Scientific, Hut8 and Bit Digital. Their pivot was emphasized in an October mining report by asset manager CoinShares, which said less profitable Bitcoin mining “may explain the rising trend of mining companies diversifying their income streams to include AI.”The cost per mined Bitcoin has essentially doubled following the April 2024 halving. Source: CoinSharesMiner diversification was also a key takeaway from a January report by Digital Mining Solutions and BitcoinMiningStock.io, which listed high-performance computing and AI as offering a “predictable revenue stream to buffer against mining volatility.”High-performance computing and AI applications account for a growing share of miner revenues. Source: Digital Mining SolutionsMagazine: ETH whale’s wild $6.8M ‘mind control’ claims, Bitcoin power thefts: Asia Express
Stablecoin, market structure bills should get done this year — Rep. Khanna
US Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, said at the Digital Assets Summit on March 18 that Congress “should be able to get” both a stablecoin and crypto market structure bill done this year.Khanna added that there are 70 to 80 Democrats now who understand the importance of stablecoin legislation in increasing American influence around the world by giving more people access to dollars. Rep. Ro Khanna (right) at the Digital Assets Summit, March 18. Source: CointelegraphStablecoins are a growing crypto use case, especially in developing countries where there is limited access to physical dollars. There are currently stablecoin bills making their way through both chambers of Congress, including the GENIUS Act in the Senate.As for a crypto market structure bill, Khanna noted the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, also known as FIT21, which he worked on with former Representative Patrick McHenry. “I understand that there has to be some tinkering to that,” Khanna said, “but a basic market structure bill should emerge.”Executives in crypto have said that the industry will benefit more from US regulatory clarity surrounding digital assets than even the strategic Bitcoin reserve. At this time of writing, cryptocurrency prices, including for Bitcoin (BTC), have fallen since the signing of US President Donald Trump’s executive order creating the reserve.Related: Banks push to block stablecoin legislation over market share fearsKhanna critical of the president’s memecoinAs enthusiastic as Khanna was about Congress passing stablecoin and crypto market regulation bills this year, he was equally critical about President Trump’s memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP).“I’ll say this just to challenge folks,” Khanna said. “I’ve been a supporter of blockchain, of crypto technology, but I criticize this idea of the president having a memecoin. I don’t think any elected official should be having a memecoin, and those types of things, in my view, distract from the fundamental technology and making the case.”He added, “We have to recognize that those types of things are not helpful in convincing the American public that there’s an underlying technology that is valuable.”Related: What is TRUMP? Donald Trump’s billion-dollar memecoinPresident Trump’s memecoin and his family’s crypto ventures may raise conflict-of-interest concerns, and California Representative Maxine Waters has said the infamous memecoin potentially opened the door to corruption and may risk national security.California Representative Sam Liccardo has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for US presidents, members of Congress, senior government officials, and their spouses and children to issue or sponsor commodities, securities or cryptocurrencies.Magazine: X Hall of Flame: Memecoins will die and DeFi will rise again — Sasha Ivanov
‘We are worried about a recession,’ but there’s a silver lining — Cathie Wood
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes the White House is underestimating the recession risk facing the US economy stemming from US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies — an oversight that will eventually force the president and Federal Reserve to enact pro-growth policies.Speaking virtually at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on March 18, Wood said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn’t worried about a recession. However, Wood said, “We are worried about a recession,” adding, “We think the velocity of money is slowing down dramatically.”Cathie Wood speaks virtually at the Digital Asset Summit. Source: CointelegraphA slowdown in the velocity of money means capital is changing hands less frequently, which is typically associated with a recession, as consumers and businesses spend and invest less money. “I think what’s happening, though, is that if we do have a recession, declining GDP, that this is going to give the president and the Fed many more degrees of freedom to do what they want in terms of tax cuts and monetary policy,” said Wood. Investors believe the first domino could fall in the coming months when the Fed puts an end to its quantitative tightening program — something bettors on Polymarket believe is 100% certain to happen before May.Meanwhile, expectations for multiple rate cuts by the Fed in the second half of the year are growing, according to CME Group’s Fed Fund futures prices.The probability of rates being lower than they are now by the Fed’s June 18 meeting is nearly 65%. Source: CME GroupRelated: As Trump tanks Bitcoin, PMI offers a roadmap of what comes nextFocus remains long termARK and Cathie Wood have been active cryptocurrency investors for many years. ARK and 21Shares’ spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was approved on Jan. 11, 2024, and currently has more than $3.9 billion in net assets, according to Yahoo Finance data. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded heavy outflows in recent weeks, but the overall trend shows investors are holding their positions. Source: FarsideARK also offers crypto portfolio solutions to wealth managers through its partnership with Eaglebrook Advisors. Wood told the New York Digital Asset Summit that “long-term innovation wins as we go through these trials and tribulations,” referring to the recent market correction. When asked if crypto assets remain an “investable arc” over the long term, Wood said this strategy was the cornerstone of ARK’s investment approach. “[W]e’ve built out positions in more than just the big three,” she said, referring to Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL).This long-term arc is being supported by favorable regulations, which have improved the investment landscape dramatically. Pro-crypto policy changes are “giving institutions the green light, and if you look at our studies as long ago as 2016, we wrote a paper called ‘Bitcoin: Ringing the Bell for a New Asset Class,’ and, yet many institutions just dismissed it out of hand,” said Wood.Now, institutions are looking at ARK’s studies and saying they “have a fiduciary responsibility to expose [their] clients to a new asset class.”Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments — Trezor CEO