Matt Hougan Convinced a Skeptic to Buy Bitcoin by Asking What Would It Take?

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise convinced a thoughtful skeptic to buy Bitcoin by shifting the conversation from abstract fear to more concrete milestones

Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, recently shared a compelling story from a national wirehouse conference.

What Happened at the Conference

During a session at the conference, an audience member approached Hougan following his closing speech.

The audience member had listened patiently as around 20-30 other questions were asked, biding his time to engage with Hougan. He shared that he really enjoyed the presentation and appreciated Hougan’s sentiments towards Bitcoin. However, he couldn’t seem to ‘get over the hump’ to invest.

Hougan recognized this as a common concern. Many people could follow the intellectual case for Bitcoin but something held them back from taking the final step to buy.

To help the audience member process his thoughts, Hougan asked him what it would take. In other words, what milestones would have to be reached or events unfold to convince the audience member that Bitcoin is here to stay.

A Final Thought

As they chatted further, they touched upon the fear that the belief in Bitcoin could suddenly cease and the asset would plummet to zero.

Hougan pointed out that this fear is applicable to any asset, even gold, but acknowledged that the more intangible nature of Bitcoin could contribute to this thought stream for some investors.

suggesting he simply write down what it would take to alleviate such fears.

To put this into perspective, Hougan listed a number of factors that may ease some investors’ minds regarding the staying power of Bitcoin:

If the price of Bitcoin were to double or triple from here.

If all of the major asset management firms like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and Vanguard started investing in Bitcoin.

If there was a huge wave of retail investors buying Bitcoin.

If all of the major wirehouses began offering their clients Bitcoin products.

Ultimately, the audience member left the conversation in a positive frame of mind and stated that he was going to buy Bitcoin.

Thoughts on Bitcoin ETFs and Wirehouses

Earlier this year, Ben Arms, the Global Head of Digital Assets at State Street (NYSE:STT), shared his thoughts on the role of wirehouses in expanding the digital asset market.