Ric Edelman Says Institutional Adoption And Asset Tokenization Drive Digital Asset Growth

Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, said institutional participation and the expansion of asset tokenization are the main growth drivers for digital assets, as CoinDesk reported on June 23.

“Ric Edelman says crypto’s biggest growth story is happening off the price chart Crypto prices remain under pressure, but Ric Edelman says institutional adoption and tokenization are accelerating behind the scenes”

@coindesk

Edelman pointed to investor sentiment deteriorating as billions of dollars have flowed out of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, while concerns have mounted over Mt. Gox wallet movements and regulatory uncertainty.

@coindesk

He said debate in the U.S. Congress over the digital-asset market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act is adding to that uncertainty, and he identified passage of the bill as a key variable for the market.

Edelman said if the bill passes, it could deliver the regulatory clarity institutional investors have been seeking and serve as a positive catalyst for the market, while delays or failure could weaken short-term investor sentiment.

He also said many financial firms are making their first crypto investments or reviewing whether to increase existing allocations, as BlackRock, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, State Street and Invesco pursue tokenization initiatives.

Bitcoin was trading around $74,700 in early Asia trading on Friday, down 0.4% on the day but up 3.5% for the week, as a 10-day rally across global equity markets paused ahead of next week's expiration of the US-Iran ceasefire.

Ether fell 1.4% to $2,327, while XRP held at $1.43 with a weekly gain of 6.4%, and Solana rose 2.7% to $87.67 as markets reacted to headlines about a permanent ceasefire with Iran.

BFM

CoinDesk said Bitcoin's perpetual funding rates have turned sharply negative in recent sessions, reaching levels not seen since 2023, and Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, warned in a note that "Negative funding rates also indicate that the market is heavily biased to the downside."

Reis-Faria said he expects Bitcoin could reach $125,000 in the next 30 to 60 days if the short base is eliminated, while CryptoVizArt's contrarian on-chain analysis pointed to Bitcoin's "Real Market Value" measure showing the average active holder is currently in the red.

CoinDesk also tied the setup to whether the extension of the US-Iran ceasefire holds beyond next week, and it cited May data showing combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T and RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% to a new all-time high.

CNBC described Ric Edelman as a former top Wall Street fund manager who is still all-in on Bitcoin, saying he founded a circle of finance professionals, the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, to educate the financial industry about what he calls "the first new major asset class in 150 years."

“Forecast Trend Report by Period Institutional participation and the expansion of asset tokenization are the main growth drivers for digital assets, CoinDesk reported on June 23”

bloomingbit

Edelman told CNBC, "Bitcoin will very likely be massively more valuable than it is today, as will many other elements of the digital asset community," and he said it represents a wealth-creation opportunity he described as "we haven't seen in 35 years."

In the same CNBC account, Edelman advised investors to hold 1% of cryptocurrencies in a diversified portfolio, while recalling that Bitcoin has fallen 70% from its November highs (around $69,000) but has risen more than sevenfold since 2018.

The BFM report also said Edelman released a book titled 'The Truth About Crypto,' and it framed his argument by comparing early tech-market growth to how crypto could mature over time.

Separately, CoinDesk said Edelman argued crypto’s biggest growth story is happening off the price chart, with BlackRock, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, State Street and Invesco advancing tokenization efforts even as crypto prices remain under pressure.