In a recent interview with CNBC, WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg shared his optimistic outlook on the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, predicting their mainstream adoption within the next few years.

Steinberg cited regulatory clarity, the emergence of publicly traded crypto funds, and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) as the main drivers of this trend.

Regulatory Clarity

During the July 29 interview, Steinberg spoke of the impact of former President Donald J. Trump’s speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 27. According to Steinberg, Trump’s promise of regulatory clarity for crypto and digital assets marked an important moment for the industry.

“Trump could not have spoken in a more ambitious tone for what he would do with crypto and Bitcoin as an asset class,” Steinberg stated. “Hes promising regulatory clarity for crypto and digital assets broadly. I think that will have a very positive effect on not just crypto, the asset class, which is really only half the story, but also blockchain-enabled finance.”

Steinberg also spoke of bitcoins track record as the best-performing asset class over the past 15 years. He noted that BTC’s performance and growing regulatory acceptance would further fuel its adoption.

The CEO highlighted that bitcoin, despite having no employees and lacking significant institutional buying, managed to raise over a trillion dollars. He noted that the crypto market as an asset class has surpassed $2 trillion, expressing his belief that BTC is going mainstream and will continue to do so in the coming years.

Drawing parallels to technological advancements, Steinberg described bitcoin as the natural evolution of money. Just as smartphones have replaced landlines, he predicts that digital assets will eventually become the dominant form of transacting.

Real-World Assets and the Future of Tokenization

Steinberg also pointed out that the narrative around crypto is expanding beyond core assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum to include a broader range of tokenized real-world assets.

“Crypto is an asset class, and then there’s this broader tokenization of all real-world assets. We see it all converging,” Steinberg explained.

He noted that traditional financial institutions are already venturing into the RWA market, giving examples like BlackRock’s BUIDL and Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX.

According to Etherscan, BlackRocks BUIDL, which launched less than four months ago, currently holds more than $500 million worth of tokenized Treasurys. Goldman Sachs is also set to launch three new tokenization products for institutional clients later this year.

According to a report by McKinsey Company, the market for RWAs is projected to reach $2 trillion by 2030. However, the firm also highlighted a “cold start” problem caused by limited liquidity and transaction volume.