BitGo CEO Says Bitcoin Is A ‘Barometer Of Excitement’ For Crypto, But Not The Whole Story

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said on Friday that Bitcoin’s (BTC) price remains a useful gauge of investor excitement around crypto, but argued that its movements should not be viewed as a definitive measure of the broader digital-asset industry.“I think it's human nature to be excited when prices are moving a lot, so that is what people tend to do,” Belshe said in an interview with CNBC. “I think it's [BTC] to some degree a barometer of excitement about what's going on in the space at any point in time.” traded flat in the last 24 hours, trading at around $79,500 at the time of writing. The apex cryptocurrency recovered to $80,000 in the previous session – its second time crossing that threshold this week, before paring gains. According to an analyst,  to the upcoming keynote speech by the new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, at Jackson Hole will help determine whether Bitcoin can sustain above the $80,000 mark.Belshe said that his focus remains on the longer-term growth of the digital-asset ecosystem rather than short-term Bitcoin price movements. “We're in this for the long term,” he said. “It's going to go up tremendously at certain times, down at other times, but it's constantly growing.”Bitcoin Price Is Only One Part Of The Crypto StoryBelshe pointed to the growing participation of traditional financial institutions as a more important indicator of the industry's development. He said the underlying investment thesis for Bitcoin continues to expand, creating demand for products and infrastructure built around digital assets.“The thesis behind Bitcoin continues to grow, and so all these products behind it grow,” Belshe said. “We used to have nothing going on. Now we've got I don't know five or six different models.”He added that firms like Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab,  and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation are announcing plans related to digital assets and tokenization.BitGo CEO Says Clarity Act Should Be ‘Pretty Non-Controversial’ Bleshe echoed the position of many Republicans, that if the U.S. does not pass the CLARITY Act, it would risk falling behind global competitors. He pointed to the legislative developments in South Korea and Europe as being ahead of the curve. According to him, the U.S. needs to “kick its game up.”“Everyone should want Clarity to pass,” Belshe said. “It's market structure for crypto.”He added that the legislation should be “really pretty non-controversial,” stating that clearer rules would give investors and companies a more defined framework for operating in the digital-asset market.“If you think that crypto has been the wild, wild west, this is what gives a legislative path forward to help rein that in, prevent any FTXs from ever happening again,” Belshe added.On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BTC fell to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘high’ levels.Bitcoin’s price has fallen around 10% this year and nearly 30% over the past 12 months. The apex cryptocurrency remains around 35% below its record high of over $126,000 seen in October.