- Howard Lutnick believes Bitcoin will grow in the next five years, like in the previous five.
- Lutnick thinks Bitcoin is constantly moving closer to mainstream finance.
- The TradFi expert noted mainstream banks want to transact in Bitcoin.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is bullish on Bitcoin, predicting it will grow as much in the next five years as it did in the previous five. According to Lutnick, despite being outside the traditional finance world, the flagship crypto is edging closer to the mainstream, and established financial institutions are eagerly awaiting the right regulations to fully embrace Bitcoin.
Even though Bitcoin operates largely outside the mainstream financial ecosystem, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO noted that mainstream banks are interested in transacting in the digital asset. He acknowledged the early signs of Bitcoin’s growing acceptance, such as the launch of Bitcoin ETFs. However, the top cryptocurrency is still in a phase where banks cannot clear, transact, or custody it freely.
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Despite this, Lutnick explained that contrary to popular belief, traditional banks see Bitcoin as a positive development and want to transact in it. However, the lack of regulatory approval limits their ability to work with the pioneer cryptocurrency. Lutnick noted that the only way a bank can hold customers’ Bitcoin under the current regulatory framework is to set aside an equivalent amount of fiat currency.
Meanwhile, the TradFi expert believes a more favorable regulatory environment would see widespread Bitcoin adoption among traditional financial service companies. He predicts that major banks and brokerage companies would jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon when regulations become more permissive.
Lutnick is confident that a properly regulated Bitcoin environment is on the horizon and thinks there needs to be a CFTC chair who would officially declare Bitcoin a financial asset and commit to treating it as such. He noted that this would boost Bitcoin and cause its price to rise, similar to the growth seen in the last five years.
Read also: How Bitcoin ETFs Are Bridging the Gap Between Crypto and TradFi
To put this in perspective, Bitcoin moved from around $3,000 in 2019 to over $73,000 by 2024, a staggering increase of over 2,200%. CoinmarketCap’s data shows that the flagship crypto’s market cap grew from about $60 billion to nearly $1.4 trillion during the same period, highlighting significant growth in the overall value of the crypto asset.
It’s important to note that Bitcoin’s growth over the years has positively impacted the entire crypto market. Therefore, there is a possibility that other cryptocurrencies, especially the more established ones, will grow alongside Bitcoin, potentially leading to an overall expansion of the cryptocurrency market, should Lutnick’s prediction prove accurate.
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