In a recent interview with CNBC’s “Money Movers” host Mark Quintanilla, WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg announced that Cryptocurrencies are becoming and will continue to be mainstream in the coming years. This feeling is further reinforced by a recent speech by former US President Donald Trump at a recent Bitcoin conference that saw huge potential for investors.

The Key to Opening the Mainstream Door

According to Steinberg, the former president’s ambitious approach to cryptocurrency makes it all the more compelling for retail investors. Trump’s promises of regulatory clarity for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as an asset class are a large deal for the cryptocurrency market, which has since been bombarded with regulatory actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“I think it would have a very positive impact. Not just on cryptocurrencies, an asset class that’s really only half the story, but also on blockchain finance, where WisdomTree is a very early leader,” Steinberg said.

Clear regulations are key to widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the United States. In fact, the United States is quite behind in accepting cryptocurrencies within its regulatory framework. According to Chain analysisThe United States ranks only fourth in the global cryptocurrency adoption index, behind Vietnam, Nigeria, and India.

Another factor mentioned is how Bitcoin outperforms private equity funds over the long term.

“What’s so interesting about Bitcoin, without employees and without institutional buying, it raised over a trillion dollars. And now cryptocurrencies as an asset class are worth over $2 trillion. I think they’re going to be mainstream and they’re going to continue to be mainstream for years to come,” Steinberg said.

While Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general are gaining increasing popularity among retail investors, there are still many hurdles to overcome before they become fully mainstream.

Crypto-jargon ambiguity still clouds the eyes of the average viewer

Quintanilla mentioned the complicated jargon that is unique to the industry, such as “halving,” “decentralized finance,” and “tokenization of real-world assets,” which “still strike fear into many people who may be considering getting in on the action.”

Steinberg, however, chimes in with the argument that regulators are skeptical of the asset class, thus blocking further widespread adoption, which leaves retail investors – who are passionate about the asset class – in the dim about what cryptocurrencies are really all about.

“And so it’s been adopted, but it hasn’t really gone mainstream yet. You see it starting to go mainstream with the crypto ETPs that have launched in Europe and the U.S., and that development will continue,” Steinberg said.

Steinberg also cited WisdomTree’s experience launching its first ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) 20 years ago. He said that confusion during the early stages of adoption is normal, but that terms will normalize as retail investors understand the basic principles of the asset class.

Featured image from Fresh Digital Age, Chart from TradingView