The encryption industry welcomes new opportunities as the Bitcoin ETF approval leads future development

At the beginning of 2024, the cryptocurrency industry has welcomed a significant turning point. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the applications for 11 Bitcoin ETFs, marking a breakthrough in the compliance process. With the participation of several large asset management companies, the price of Bitcoin once broke through the $57,000 mark.

On February 27, a roundtable forum themed "The Prospects of Cryptocurrency After the Approval of the Bitcoin ETF and the Integration of Real Assets into Web3" was held in Hong Kong. Guests discussed industry hotspots in depth, including the compliance director of a trading platform, the CEO and co-founder of Agora, the CEO and co-founder of Clearpool, and other industry experts such as the founder of the Asia RWA Working Group.

The director of the compliance department of a certain trading platform stated that the approval of the Bitcoin ETF brings positive effects to the industry. Good regulation can create market opportunities, and this approval is exciting. Previously, the encryption industry experienced a winter of trust and regulatory deficiencies, and the approval of the ETF is undoubtedly an important turning point.

The founder of the Asia RWA working group believes that the Bitcoin ETF sets a precedent for other digital assets, which is expected to promote the integration of encryption assets with the real economy, enhance liquidity, and build a stronger financial ecosystem. Clearpool's CEO pointed out from a DeFi perspective that with the entry of institutions, the Bitcoin ETF may bring more trading volume to decentralized finance.

Regarding the application of physical assets ( RWA ) in the Web3 field, the founder of the Asian RWA working group stated that RWA represents significant progress between traditional finance and DeFi, with the potential to unlock liquidity and create new investment opportunities. The approval of the Bitcoin ETF may have a significant impact on RWA, enhancing the legitimacy and accessibility of encryption, thereby accelerating the development of RWA projects.

He also pointed out that there are differences between Asia and the West in the practice of RWA, mainly reflected in aspects such as regulatory environment, market dynamics, technology applications, investor preferences, economic priorities, and legal systems. Some Asian countries tend to adopt new technologies more quickly, with a higher penetration rate of mobile payments, which may facilitate the acceptance of tokenized assets.

The CEO of Clearpool introduced the upcoming Credit Vaults product, which aims to provide greater flexibility for borrowers, attract new lenders, and expand lending opportunities. He believes that the on-chain credit prospects brought by RWA are promising, but they may also affect DeFi yields. He is personally optimistic about institutional participation in DeFi, as well as the development of native asset DeFi and permissioned DeFi.

Agora CEO revealed that the company is developing a fully collateralized, freely tradable US dollar stablecoin, which is expected to launch in the coming months. The collateral for the stablecoin will be managed by a traditional asset management company overseeing nearly $100 billion in assets.

With the approval of the Bitcoin ETF and innovations in the RWA field, the cryptocurrency industry is ushering in new development opportunities. The improvement of the regulatory environment and the participation of institutional investors are expected to drive the industry towards a more mature and standardized direction.