Institutional appetite for Ethereum will grow now that the network is ESG compliant, according to the head of BitMEX.
In a recent interview, BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner shared his thoughts on institutional investors, who, in his opinion, still have an appetite for cryptocurrencies and Ethereum.
Speaking at the Token2049 conference in Singapore on Sept. 28, the crypto executive told Cointelegraph that there has been no “single extension of institutional momentum in crypto” during this bear market.
He added that financial industry players and institutions often use bear markets for innovation. There is much more pressure to deliver in a bull market, but bear markets offer the luxury of more time.
Höptner also commented that adoption for the financial industry has a long horizon, which is why institutions buy and hold crypto assets, while the opposite can currently be said for trading.
When asked if institutions or trading are ending the bear market, he said that trading is still pulling back while institutions are still pushing, before adding:
“I think the institutions are now getting ready to provide the services and trade will come back and drive it.”
The BitMEX boss is also convinced that institutions will start to look back on Ethereum, now that it has switched to proof-of-stake and satisfied environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns.
“Ethereum is the ideal protocol to build things on,” he commented before adding “this is the ideal public event to build financial products for ESG compliance,” referring to the recently completed merger.
Right now, ESG compliance is important, he said, adding that institutions can “offer products that are really for a broad audience, while checking one of the boxes they have for compliance.”
Related: Three Quarters of Institutions Will Use Crypto in Three Years: Ripple
The $3,000 figure was mentioned via Ether
ETH
dial down
$1,263
Prices until the end of the year, and Höptner sees this as an opportunity, especially now that the network is more environmentally friendly and the big banks are using it. ETH is currently trading up 3.8% to $1,336 in the last 24 hours, so it has a long way to go in the next three months.
Last week, Cointelegraph reported that liquid staking products like Lido’s Stakeed Ether (stETH) are more profitable and capital efficient than holding regular ETH. As such, they will increase in popularity, while ETH storage may become obsolete.
