In recent years, however, the industry has demonstrated the value of bitcoin to much of the institutional investing world. BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco and others launched the first spot bitcoin ETFs at the beginning of this year — bitcoin's "IPO" moment — and the growing demand for them by institutions has helped drive the price higher. In November, Rick Wurster, the incoming CEO of Charles Schwab, said the firm is preparing to enter spot crypto trading, pending regulatory changes expected in the next Trump administration.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin is "just like gold, only it's virtual, it's digital," speaking at the DealBook conference. He further clarified that "people are not using it as a form of payment, or as a store of value" and that "it's not a competitor for the dollar, it's really a competitor for gold."