\u2018It was inevitable\u2019 says BTC Markets CEO<\/strong><\/h2>\nHi Caroline. It\u2019s been quite a week for crypto news so far. Just about all seems to be going according to bullish plan (okay maybe not certain macroeconomics this week), with the market now gifted\u00a0 the news of spot Ethereum ETF approvals in the US. What\u2019s your perception of all this?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nCaroline Bowler:<\/strong>\u00a0I think it was always inevitable, and it\u2019s inevitable worldwide, too. So it\u2019s certainly no surprise to me.<\/p>\nIt will happen here in Australia, too, and it\u2019s going to happen in the other major markets around the world.<\/p>\n
So that that much we know, but what I think is interesting in this instance is the greater story happening behind the scenes, because the signs and indications were that this wasn\u2019t going to come through in this batch.<\/p>\n
Regarding the greater story behind the scenes, do you mean the potential US political motivations behind this?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nYes, I think that\u2019s of more interest \u2013 the speculation about whether the Biden administration\u2019s view on crypto has evolved and whether there has there been pressure applied.<\/p>\n
Institutional pressure?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWell there is a certain degree of pressure given the players that are involved and the scale of these businesses that we\u2019re talking about at play in crypto now.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s becoming no longer acceptable to just broadly disparage the cryptocurrency industry when BlackRock is so heavily into it \u2013 you can\u2019t get more institutional and establishment than that.<\/p>\n
All these powers and factors combined is the most telling part of the shift that I think we\u2019re seeing happening within the United States.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not surprised the US establishment has had some issues with it, given its geopolitical role and gaining momentum outside its borders.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a subject where they have long been able to use it almost like as a punching bag. So I wouldn\u2019t count my chickens regarding a full<\/em> turnaround in sentiment just yet.<\/p>\nBut the industry is continuing and it\u2019s now that much older. It\u2019s gone through another bear cycle. And it\u2019s seen FTX implode, SBF and CZ sent to prison and it still hasn\u2019t fallen over. In fact, those events, in my view have take the sting out of the anti-crypto declarations made by the likes of Senator Elizabeth Warren.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s because the system is working with these guys in prison, the industry is\u00a0still here, and people are still interested in it.<\/p>\n
And it can no longer just be ignored or put in the \u201cit\u2019s just for criminals\u201d box. That doesn\u2019t fly any more. BlackRock didn\u2019t come to the table because it wanted to deal with criminals or lose money. It did it because it knew its clients wanted these ETF products.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s money in this and there\u2019s demand, and I think the presidential candidates have woken up to that.<\/p>\n
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A classic, massive, post-halving crypto bull run to ensue?<\/h2>\n
How bullish then, do all these factors you\u2019re talking about make you feel about the crypto market as we inch closer to H2?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nObviously, we\u2019re bullish for the long term anyway, given the industry that we work in, but I think that the recovery that we\u2019ve seen that started in 2023, gathering pace this year, indicates the next 12 months are going to be particularly interesting and exciting in cryptocurrency \u2013 amid the US election, too.<\/p>\n
There are still regulatory headwinds to be faced over there, but I really think you ultimately can\u2019t stop cryptocurrency as a sector and industry \u2013 it\u2019s become a juggernaut.<\/p>\n
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\u2018Wen\u2019 Aussie crypto industry regulations?<\/h2>\n
What about the Aussie regulatory landscape? Do you think the more accepting turnaround we\u2019re seeing from the US powers that be towards crypto could spur on the Australian government to, at long last, provide some regulatory clarity for the industry here any time soon?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nSoon? The short answer to that is\u2026 sadly, no.<\/p>\n
The more detailed version of that is, I think that we\u2019re likely see some movement in the next<\/em> government, whether it\u2019s a Labor government or a Liberal government, whoever it is, I think it\u2019s likely the timeframe for regulatory clarity in Australia will be in the next government cycle.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s my take on it. There just isn\u2019t enough impetus behind it yet, and the impact of the United States and the ETF discussions \u2013 it\u2019s just not a big enough story yet to apply additional pressure here.<\/p>\n
I know they\u2019re working on it \u2013 this is what we\u2019ve been told.<\/p>\n
But in the meantime, and while we\u2019ll always keep our Aussie operation open \u2013 it\u2019s the mothership \u2013 we are looking overseas, too, at other opportunities outside of the Australian border where we can get regulatory clarity and where I know I can grow the business.\u00a0Where I don\u2019t have to be worried about you know, some of the goalposts changing \u2013 I\u2019ll have a license and be good to go.<\/p>\n
BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler. Image supplied<\/p>\n
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