BlackRock ETF chief sees “Crypto Deregulation” pushing Bitcoin to new heights

The global digital assets market, particularly Bitcoin (BTC) is hitting the headlines again as President-elect Donald Trump is set to take over the White House. BlackRock’s ETF chief, Samara Cohen, has made a bullish prediction that the crypto industry under Trump will drive BTC to another historic year.

Altcoins are already riding the bullish waves along with Bitcoin over the pro-crypto promises made by Donald Trump. On CNBC’s “ETF Edge,” Cohen highlighted the upcoming progress in the FIT21 Act (Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act) will pave the way for the industry.

Another historic year for Bitcoin ahead

Samara Cohen, Chief Investment Officer of ETF and Index Investments for BlackRock, believes that the cryptocurrency deregulation will push Bitcoin price to new heights. She suggests that there will be progress made on stablecoins with clearer taxonomy.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surged 114% since debuting in January 2024 and is up nearly 8% YTD. IBIT became the fastest ETP to reach $10 billion AUM in just 2 months after the launch. The investment giant introduced Ether ETPs on July 23, 2024, including Shares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA).

The biggest crypto has gained more than 50% in the last 90 days pushing it to trade over the $100K mark. It went on to hit its fresh all time high (ATH) of over $108K on December 17, 2024. BTC is trading at an average price of $102,026 at press time.

Despite the rally, Cohen has warned investors to brace for volatility: “Bitcoin is a risky asset. 15% moves aren’t enormous in this space. Long-term prices hinge on adoption rates,” she added. BlackRock isn’t slowing down as the giant launched its iShares Bitcoin ETF on CBOE Canada this week. Meanwhile, Calamos Investments is set to debut the world’s first 100% downside-protected Bitcoin ETF next Wednesday.

Crypto ETPs bridging gaps

In a recent LinkedIn post, Cohen mentioned that it’s been a year since the launch of Bitcoin ETPs like the iShares’ IBIT. These products helped to construct a bridge between crypto and traditional finance. BTC ETPs managed to provide greater exposure to digital assets for investors of all types. She added that the firm is also seeing that digital asset-native investors are opening brokerage accounts and using ETPs.

Samara Cohen stated that the ETPs were able to enhance liquidity and price discovery to more cloudy parts of the markets. The investment firm has seen IBIT becoming a liquid vehicle for both buyers and sellers to adjust their exposure to Bitcoin efficiently just in a year.

As per the data shared by SoSoValue, January 16th saw Bitcoin ETFs knocking an inflow of over $626.15 million. Grayscale’s ETF GBTC had a net outflow of $69.97 million, bringing its net outflow to $21.68 billion. At the same time, BlackRock’s IBIT recorded the highest net inflow for the day with a deposit of $527.87 million. Its cumulative inflow stands at around $38.04 billion.

Crypto is heading to Washington as advocates and holders of digital assets are set to shape US policy. The President-elect Trump is expected to fill key advisory roles with crypto-friendly figures. Billionaire Scott Bessent has been nominated for Treasury Secretary. He views crypto as “freedom” and has pledged to divest his BlackRock Bitcoin ETF shares within 90 days of confirmation.

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