Cryptocurrencies will become more deeply integrated into traditional finance (TradFi) through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate holdings this year, according to cryptocurrency trading firm Wintermute.
Additionally, a large corporate event, such as an acquisition or merger, will be settled in stablecoins, the market maker and liquidity provider said in an annual review and outlook.
Among his other forecasts:
- The United States will begin consultations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, and China, the United Arab Emirates and Europe will follow suit.
- A publicly traded company will sell debt or equity to buy ether (ETH), mimicking MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) bitcoin acquisition policy.
- A systemically important bank will offer cryptocurrency spot operations to its clients.
The predictions follow substantial growth in demand last year, which saw institutional over-the-counter (OTC) trading volumes triple following the approval last January of bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and the subsequent arrival of ether (ETH) ETFs. The report attributed the interest to greater regulatory clarity and demand for capital-efficient operations. The average OTC trade size increased by 17% and total volume by 313%, it said.
Derivatives volumes grew more than 300%, driven by institutions seeking more sophisticated risk management and profitability instruments. In spot trading, Wintermute recorded record single-day OTC volume of $2.24 billion, surpassing the 2023 weekly record of $2 billion.
Change in asset preferences
Memecoins were one of the success stories in 2024 as their market share more than doubled to 16%. This was primarily driven in the Solana ecosystem by tokens such as dogwifhat (WIF), bonk (BONK), and ponke (PONKE), although ether continues to dominate.
“We saw record growth driven by demand for sophisticated products such as CFDs and options, reflecting a maturing market that increasingly reflects traditional finance,” CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said in the report. “We anticipate even greater momentum as cryptocurrencies become more deeply integrated into the global financial infrastructure through ETFs, corporate holdings, tokenization and the rise of structured products.”
