William Quigley, co-founder of stablecoin issuer Tether and WAX Blockchain, said in an interview with Decrypt last week that Wall Street’s “greed” will lead to more and more cryptocurrency spot index equity funds (ETFs). . But he also warned that while Wall Street's interest has fueled the overall cryptocurrency market, it also brings risks.
Quigley predicts a surge in ETFs for other major cryptocurrencies like Solana and Cardano, driven by Wall Street's relentless pursuit of profits. He said:
"Wall Street is greedy. Whenever Wall Street packages a new product to sell to consumers, if the product is successful, you can guarantee that there will be imitation products. If the Bitcoin ETF fails, there will be no other ETFs."
Quigley added that Wall Street loves "the next hot new thing" because it's something they can talk to consumers about and sell products to. But if the momentum eventually cools down, he expects ETF providers to turn their attention to the next big trend.
Quigley also said that "we will continue to see new ETFs launched until there is a significant pullback," and then some of these ETFs will be closed by their issuing companies due to lack of demand.
The approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETF sparked a huge influx of interest and investment, underscoring the growing acceptance and institutional interest in the digital asset. The success of this investment product has paved the way for more cryptocurrency-related financial products, and the market has been eagerly anticipating similar developments in other such products. Market expectations for Ethereum spot ETFs are particularly high, especially after positive signals from regulators.
The Ethereum spot ETF received preliminary approval at the end of May, but investors must still wait for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the S-1 registration statement submitted by the fund issuer before they can start trading such ETFs. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said at a congressional hearing last week that the approval process for an Ethereum spot ETF may be completed by the end of the summer.
Traditional finance’s involvement in the encryption field may cause major risks
Although ETFs have brought more mainstream attention, Quigley expressed dissatisfaction with the increasing involvement of traditional finance in the cryptocurrency space. He said:
"I'm happy with cryptocurrency without Wall Street. Will it be smaller? Absolutely. But I don't feel the need to continue to expand the size of cryptocurrency right now."
Quigley warned that Wall Street's aggressive marketing of crypto products could lead to significant risks, especially if institutional investors pull back during a market downturn.
While Quigley has reservations about Wall Street's involvement, he acknowledges that an influx of capital is critical to the market's substantial growth. "If you want a lot of capital, then yes, you have to do something like an ETF," he said.
Based on past price action, Bitcoin typically rises six months or more after a halving event as the effects of the halving event begin to be felt, limiting the expansion of supply. Quigley believes historical patterns will continue along this path.
Quigley doesn’t think Bitcoin prices will go higher yet “because now is not the time,” but he still predicts significant price increases in the future.
