Ryan McKean, Regional Director for Bitwise Asset Management, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, at the GTE Wealth Forum to discuss how crypto may reshape the financial system.
Following the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, McKean notes increased advisor interest in the crypto space. He adds that this interest is supported by U.S. regulatory developments, such as the GENIUS Act. As a result, McKean finds that most advisors are shifting the conversation toward blockchain innovation, including the potential for stablecoins to revolutionize the financial system and the tokenization of stocks and bonds. He also highlights the 2025 launch of the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which quickly raised $500 million in funding, further cementing the growing demand for smart contract blockchains.
In the early days of Bitwise, McKean says the most aggressive advisors allocated around 1% to crypto. By the end of 2025, that figure had increased to 5%. He adds that the firm’s data supports an allocation range between 1% and 10%, depending on client risk tolerance.
Bitwise is a crypto asset manager with more than $15 billion in client assets and over 40 investment products spanning ETFs, private funds, and hedge fund strategies. Bitwise’s approach focuses on risk management, as crypto demands rigorous, institutional-grade measures to protect client funds.
WEBCAST – Stablecoins & Tokenization: How Crypto Will Reinvent Money in the Next 5 Years
Stablecoins have captured significant attention recently. The most bullish forecasts predict that stablecoins will become the primary rails for global money movements in the next ten years. With all the hype, it can be hard for advisors to know how much stablecoins matter or how to gain exposure for their clients. In this session, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen, break down the size of the opportunity, the advantages that stablecoins offer over legacy banking rails, the impact of recent regulatory breakthroughs, and the types of vehicles that offer exposure to this theme – and, as a bonus, they delve into how tokenization represents the next evolution of this technology.