Pomp: Wall Street and US Politicians Now Fully Embrace Bitcoin and Crypto
- Wall Street, once wary of crypto’s threat to the traditional financial system, now sees it as an opportunity due to its immense growth and mainstream acceptance.
- Politicians have shifted their stance on crypto, moving from opposition to support, influenced by its popularity among voters and potential electoral impacts.
- Both sectors are advocating for further integration of crypto into the financial system, evidenced by support for new ETFs and crypto-friendly legislation.
Why are Wall Street and US politicians suddenly interested in crypto? That is the question entrepreneur and investor Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano gets a lot, he said in a recent YouTube monologue.
Financial Institutions: Bitcoin and Crypto an Opportunity, Not a Threat
Not long ago Wall Street and most financial institutions were bearish on crypto and Bitcoin. Pomp said they most likely saw Bitcoin and crypto as a threat to their established business.
The new kid on the block that threatens the establishment:
If you’re on top of the legacy financial system, you’re not interested in any alternative version. You’re not interested in somebody coming and disrupting you with decentralization.
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However, things started to change and Pomp said that the heads of major financial organisations started to observe an undeniable shift toward crypto. Initially sceptical, they now see increasing engagement with Bitcoin and crypto among their young employees and broader public interest.
This growing belief in its long-term value, evidenced by people not selling their holdings, has made many recognise that crypto is here to stay.
It’s a cute idea when it’s a couple $1 million market cap. Maybe it’s a couple $100 million market cap. Oh, it’s even cute when it crosses over a billion dollars in market cap. But now the market is over $2.5 trillion. Bitcoin alone is more than a trillion dollars itself.
So, executives started to do research and realised “there may be a way […] not to look at this as a threat, but instead as an opportunity”, Pomp said.
That inspired Wall Street, excited by new ways to drive revenue, attract new customers, and hire talented individuals eager to work in this innovative area.
The approval of the Bitcoin ETF was just the final push needed, confirming crypto’s legitimacy in mainstream finance and resulting in billions flowing into these ETFs, making it “the single most successful financial product launch in the history of Wall Street.”
Politicians: First They Ignored it, Then They Fought it, Then They Embraced it
It’s a similar story for Politicians, who initially thought Bitcoin and co would threaten their status quo. While some in US politics may have seen the potential for freedom and free speech with crypto, most saw it as an obstacle to getting re-elected.
But as more and more voters now hold crypto the focus has shifted, especially since Donald Trump has come out and said he is “going to be the pro crypto candidate”.
Had Democrats remained tough on crypto, they would risk alienating an estimated 50 million voters. So, they started changing course and many “broke with the ranks of the Democratic Party”, beginning to advocate for an Ether ETF approval and vote in favour of crypto legislation.
And even President Joe Biden might come around, Pomp said:
And on top of that, it now looks like even the Biden administration is going to end up being pro crypto going into the election.
And though there was a fear that the US could be trying to ban crypto, recent events demonstrate that crypto now has the support of politicians as well as Wall Street in the United States:
So, Wall Street and the politicians both come to the same conclusion about the same time. And then we get Wall Street continuing to bang on the door of other assets. We get the politicians on a bipartisan standpoint coming together to support this asset class.
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