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Voyager Digital sees increased volume in BTC, ETH trading

Voyager Digital CEO Steven Ehrlich joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the trading action on Voyager Digital, a crypto trading platform.

Video transcript

SEANA SMITH: Bitcoin pulling back from its all-time highs, taking a breather following a lot of excitement around the launch of the first Bitcoin futures ETF. You can see it off nearly 5% today, but still holding above 63,000. We want to bring in Steven Ehrlich. He's the CEO of Voyager Digital. Steven, it's good to see you. Certainly a huge week for crypto, lots of excitement surrounding this new ETF. But I'm curious. Tell us what you've seen on your platform. Are you seeing more interest in Bitcoin and in Ethereum and in other cryptocurrencies as a result of this new ETF?

STEVEN EHRLICH: Well, thank you for having me today. Really appreciate being here. You know, on Voyager, we're actually in anticipation. When the word actually came out that there was going to be the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, we started to see tremendous engagement on the platform, where consumers were depositing more money, we were getting more accounts opened, and we've seen an influx of transactions on Bitcoin.

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But as you mentioned as well, we're seeing more and more people buy Ethereum, and some of the alternative coins are actually being-- are popular right now for trading, like Solana and Avalanche. We see a tremendous amount of people actually buying that. So this has given an uptick in the entire market, the Bitcoin ETF. And we're excited about that.

ADAM SHAPIRO: So for those of us who are amateur crypto and might be trading, what can we expect as more ETFs get approved, especially if there's a Bitcoin spot ETF. What's that going to look like in the real world for the price of Bitcoin and then for those of us who are going to go via the ETF?

STEVEN EHRLICH: Yeah, I think the first Bitcoin ETF, as you pointed out, is a derivative-based ETF, which has got, you know, tremendous acceptance. I think they've taken in about a billion dollars of transactional volume already. But we're the same as your thought is that we believe that the next ETF will be actual based on Bitcoin itself and not the derivative. And then you will add the Ethereum-based ETFs.

And I believe from there, you will actually see a combination ETF, which includes some Bitcoin, some Ethereum, and some of the other alternative coins. I think this is just the beginning of seeing ETFs related to cryptocurrency. And when that happens, that's even more adoption. That will allow registered investment advisors to actually participate for their customers as well because it's a regulated product. And that's what we're all looking for. And I think that's the excitement here. And that's why we think and I personally think that Bitcoin will be to 100,000 by the end of the year.

SEANA SMITH: Well, by the end of the year-- that doesn't leave us much time. Steven, when we talk about the decision here from regulators to have the first Bitcoin ETF as a futures ETF instead of a spot ETF, did that decision-- does that make sense to you?

STEVEN EHRLICH: Well, I would have preferred to see it be based on the straight Bitcoin, but I understand why I think the ESCC approved it in the futures market as a futures ETF. And I really believe that's because the CFTC already had futures contracts that they were regulating. So this was the natural next progression of that. But I do believe, as we see more and more thoughtful regulation as it relates to Bitcoin, that spot Bitcoin ETF will be there. And that's the next really exciting step for Bitcoin. And we're seeing our consumers buy more Bitcoin because they're anticipating that coming. If not in 2021, we'll see it in 2022.

ADAM SHAPIRO: When I listen to all of this and I think a lot of investors are hearing this, and it seems as if the growth within crypto-- and what I really mean is Bitcoin-- is going to be exponential, especially, you pointed out, regulated ETFs. What does that truly mean, though, to be regulated? Because you're going to have millions upon millions of dollars pouring into this.

STEVEN EHRLICH: Well, look, I think that regulation is going to come to the overall cryptocurrency market. We think thoughtful regulation, and we're anticipating that. And we believe that's a really good thing for the adoption of crypto. And therefore, those ETFs that are regulated is the beginning of this. And then the rest of the regulated market will open up for all consumers.

And that's what we really truly believe at Voyager, is that crypto should be accessible for all. And everybody should get access. Where do you want to get the access to cryptocurrency? Through your registered advisor, through an SEC regulated ETF product, or the cryptocurrencies? That's where this really is transformative and actually can really grow the ecosystem.

SEANA SMITH: All right, Steven Ehrlich, always great to speak with you, CEO of Voyager Digital. And we'd love to get you back on. We'll see whether or not we hit $100,000 in Bitcoin by the end of the year.