Bitwise CIO says 'we’re probably a few weeks away' from first wirehouse to support bitcoin ETFs

"We're probably a few weeks away from the first of those major warehouses approving it — maybe a week away," Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said on a panel about bitcoin ETFs at the Digital Asset Conference in London. "And within a few months they'll all be able to."

Hougan explained that the US retail wealth market can be divided into two groups: independent financial advisors and major national platforms. He mentioned that the IRAs have been the ones buying into the bitcoin ETFs as they are immediately able to do so. As for the major platforms, these need to approve the products internally through their due diligence processes before making them available.

Hougan described this as a series of small passageways that need to be navigated before most of the wealth in the US can invest in these newly launched products. He stated that the major wirehouses supporting the ETFs could increase their availability by around four times.

Watching for wirehouses

His comments match those by Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, who told The Block recently that the two major catalysts for the bitcoin ETFs would be their availability on wirehouses — as well as the development of options products based on them.

Balchunas said the ETFs should land on those platforms within the next few months. “It's like putting a product on the shelf of Whole Foods or a big food store. Just that kind of exposure and availability is only going to help,” he said.

Balchunas added that in addition to wirehouses, other large investment platforms like Raymond James and LPL could facilitate broader access to ETFs. He also noted that many smaller platforms might follow suit.