Will Peck: WisdomTree’s Digital Asset Strategy - [Making Markets, EP.6]

Dec 1, 2023

Will Peck, Head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree, discusses the firm's digital roots, the complexity of launching a bitcoin ETF, their innovative app, and the differences in regulations between Europe and the US. They also explore the advantages of tokenization, instant settlement, and the future of stablecoins in asset holdings.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

European ETP Sparked WisdomTree's Crypto Push

WisdomTree's first crypto step came from buying a European commodity ETP business and launching a Bitcoin ETP there.
That gateway convinced the firm to expand into broader digital asset efforts.

INSIGHT

Blockchain As A Universal Wrapper

Bitcoin offers advantages like easy storage and visibility but lacks millennia of monetary history that gold has.
WisdomTree treats blockchain as a wrapping technology to tokenise many asset types, not just Bitcoin versus gold.

INSIGHT

Regulation Varies By Region And Product

Europe allowed exchange-listed Bitcoin products earlier than the U.S., creating different regional paths to market.
Regulatory regimes vary by product and region; Europe can be more permissive for some digital asset products.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

My guest today is Will Peck. Will is the Head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree, where he oversees the firm’s digital assets, crypto, and blockchain initiatives. After speaking with WisdomTree’s CIO, Jeremy Schwartz, a few weeks ago it was great to explore their digital strategy with Will.

We discuss the firm’s digital roots, the complexity around launching a bitcoin ETF, and their innovative app – WisdomTree Prime. Please enjoy my conversation with Will Peck.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

-----

Making Markets is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Making Markets, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Show Notes:

(00:02:05) - First Question - How he became the head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree

(00:02:51) - Wisdom Trees first steps into the digital assets space

(00:04:50) - Why he thinks bitcoin is not a replacement for gold

(00:06:31) - His views on the US regulatory market and why launching in Europe is different

(00:09:15) - FCC denial and what that means for GPTC

(00:11:01) - The BlackRock twist that finally put things in motion

(00:13:11) - The likelihood that similar businesses and assets will copy one another

(00:16:37) - Derby style launching and splitting the pot

(00:17:57) - Why he thinks ETFs make the most sense

(00:20:13) - His macro take on where Bitcoin is

(00:21:29) - The reason why they chose the public market versus private

(00:24:08) - How black listing is handled when a financial firm launches a token

(00:26:21) - What he thinks about the finality of settlement

(00:27:53) - WisdomTree Prime’s focus on the wallet

(00:31:24) - The big change for Wisdom Tree to build physical infrastructure

(00:35:05) - He explains Prime

(00:36:16) - Stable coins and what they are invested in

(00:37:40) - How Wisdom Tree bond funds work

(00:37:59) - Creating funds around regulatory ambiguity

(00:39:06) - How bond funds pay interest to tokens

(00:40:22) - Logistics behind moving tokens from a Prime wallet to another account

(00:42:06) - Keeping record of tokens

(00:43:38) - He talks about the token opportunities they are most excited about

(00:46:24) - Steps to get a stable coin to pay interest

(00:47:17) - What he's most excited for Wisdom Tree clients to experience

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices