Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have already surpassed $100 billion in assets under management less than a year since their launch, and crypto watchers see no sign of a demand slowdown.
Invesco's Brian Hartigan thinks individuals and institutions alike stand to benefit from an allocation to the red-hot ETF category.
"It's liquid, it's regulated and that really touts the benefits of the ETF," the firm's global head of ETFs and index investments told CNBC's "ETF Edge" on Monday. "Hopefully that's the kind of intermediary vehicle that we needed to give the institutional marketplace more access to digital coins."
Spot bitcoin prices have soared more than 10% over the past month, according to Coin Metrics, crossing the $100,000 level during that time. The ETF Store president Nate Geraci credits President-elect Donald Trump's win with a key role in the price surge.
"That's indicative of a shifting regulatory landscape, which has given investors, and in particular advisors and institutional investors, much more confidence to come into the crypto arena," Geraci said in the same interview.
Last week, the president-elect chose David Sacks to serve as the artificial intelligence and crypto czar in his administration. Trump also announced in a social media post his plans to nominate Paul Atkins to serve as the next U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair. Both picks are expected to promote pro-crypto policy.
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"The overall regulatory backdrop has turned much more positive," said Geraci. "I think you're seeing that reflected in crypto prices. You're going to see that reflected in a proliferation of crypto ETFs coming market."
Invesco's Hartigan agrees that the regulatory tailwind may be opening up bitcoin ETFs for even more opportunities.
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"The next chapter, hopefully the ease of bringing new ideas and new opportunities for the asset class, is what we're going to see in '25 and beyond, whether that's reserves, access points or additional liquidity vehicles. I think that's a huge opportunity for the asset class," Hartigan added.
