Top Coinbase Exec: Institutional Crypto Adoption Is “Moving Very Fast”

A senior official from the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Coinbase, asserts that institutional adoption of digital assets is progressing faster than people believe.

In a recent interview with SALT Talks, John D’Agostino, a senior adviser at Coinbase, explains that despite appearances to the contrary, institutional crypto adoption is really accelerating.

“These things just take time. Institutional inertia is a very real thing. I had a hedge fund where one of the guys who worked for me picked up his monitor and threw it through a window because the colours on his OMS, his order management system, changed. Just his colours. These are creatures of habit. There’s a lot of switching costs associated with adding new assets.

So for me, for someone who spent 15 years trying to get commodities to be mainstream, it’s actually moving fast. But I do understand why for somebody in the heat of the moment feels it’s glacial. But for institutional I think it’s moving very, very fast.”

US authorities have hindered the expansion of the cryptocurrency sector, according to D’Agostino, but he anticipates more favourable rules in the future, such as the legalisation of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded spot funds (ETF).

“I think the regulators have been complacent to the point of harming the US’s positioning with regards to the growth of this technology. I’m sympathetic to their point of view. I’m sympathetic to the notion that they feel they have to protect retail investors from volatile assets.

I think that’s going to change. Despite the delay, an ETF is inevitable. I can’t tell you when it’s going to happen. But I know at some point it’s going to happen.”

Several ETFs have previously been rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), increasing the pressure for ultimate acceptance.

Grayscale, a manager of crypto assets, has recently taken legal action against the SEC’s denial of the company’s ETF application.