Four years ago, the crypto-lambo stunt at the New York Consensus conference garnered the world’s attention. It raised eyebrows among skeptics, boosted the morale of those invested in the industry, and accelerated the clamor for crypto’s real-world purchasing power. In hindsight, it stands as a rockstar moment in crypto history. Cut to the present, the recent ruling on spot Bitcoin ETFs marks a contrasting shift—a ‘family-man’ moment for crypto, ushering in a new era of stability and accessibility.

Bitcoin ETFs see record inflows

The numbers don’t lie as far as Bitcoin’s newfound respect goes. Since January 11 this year, Bitcoin ETFs have seen a record $2.8 billion in inflows, nearly 40% of this coming in just the last week. After a downward price curve for several weeks, Bitcoin just rallied to a whopping $50,000 earlier this week.

Returning power to intermediaries?

Originally conceived as a purely peer-to-peer electronic cash system, Bitcoin aimed to remove banking intermediaries and ensure transactional power stayed with people. The idea of a decentralized financial system was romanticized to such an extent that it naturally warranted a loyal community to safeguard its basic tenets. And people came in droves. So did a host of altcoins.

As Vitalik Buterin said, the success of crypto is not because it empowers better people but because it empowers better institutions.

Shift in regulatory sentiment and revival of digital assets

As Bitcoin OGs and their detractors decide which side of the fence is greener, one thing that cannot be ignored is how the recent ruling has softened the level of notoriety around crypto assets. There are reports of regulators in Hong Kong receiving applications for crypto ETFs, with more countries expected to see action on this front. Efforts of other major financial hubs, such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, to frame policies around crypto investments are also being seen in a new light.

A tangential benefit to the recent ruling is the revival of certain digital asset classes, which hold great potential but petered out early on due to the hype circus. The fact that the SEC ruling came just in time for the much anticipated crypto bull market makes it harder to pinpoint if it is the one genuinely driving renewed investor appetite for these digital assets.

Conclusion

As with any new industry milestone, it’s still early days to judge the impact of the SEC ruling on the crypto sector. The sector indeed needed people’s trust worldwide, and the SEC ruling has at least helped cross half of that bridge. There is a higher level of crypto adoption today and an increasing curiosity among people of all generations to understand the nuances of crypto technology.

But as Vitalik Buterin said, the success of crypto is not because it empowers better people but because it empowers better institutions. Crossing the bridge in full requires all stakeholders to apply crypto assets solely for the welfare of humanity without making it just another tool for financial speculation. That’s when the real magic takes shape.

Read more on Global Crypto News for the latest updates and insights on the crypto sector.

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