Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Sees Bitcoin Joining Traditional Finance
Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, has stated that Bitcoin is on the verge of joining the traditional finance (TradFi) world.
Lutnick believes that Bitcoin has been an outsider to TradFi for the past five years, but it’s now dipping its toe into global finance. He stated that Cantor Fitzgerald will help TradFi onboard Bitcoin because it wants new asset classes.
Traditional Finance Companies Want Bitcoin
Cantor Fitzgerald is a financial services company founded in 1945 with $480 billion in assets under management (AUM). In July, the firm announced plans to launch a Bitcoin financing business to provide leverage to investors who hold BTC. The firm stated at the time that it aims to launch with $2 billion in initial financing and will continue to grow the operation substantially.
Lutnick acknowledges that there are still hurdles to mainstream onboarding. Banks still can’t clear, transact, custodian, or finance Bitcoin. However, he believes that banks want to transact with Bitcoin because they want new asset classes to transact in.
He said that the main obstacle is regulatory approval. Once regulators say it’s okay, Lutnick predicts that the big banks and brokerage companies will all jump into Bitcoin.
It is a slow and steady process, but Lutnick believes that eventually, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair will declare that Bitcoin is a financial asset and treat it as such. When that happens, he believes Bitcoin will move in a very strong, positive direction.
Lutnick concludes that over the next five years, Bitcoin will be “invited to the party” and its price will go up.
However, it is important to note that Bitcoin’s price has been trending down since mid-March, and it’s down 23% from its all-time high.
