• Crypto is getting more and more institutionalised and maturing well, says Mohamed El-Erian.
• The top economist pointed to the flip in sentiment from major players such as BlackRock as good for crypto.
• El-Erian also commented on US inflation.

Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, says the cryptocurrency industry is getting more institutionalized and maturing well. The economist and president of Queen’s College, Cambridge, shared the outlook during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” show on Tuesday.

His comments also came as Bitcoin bounced off lows seen on Monday to trade above $26,000 as the broader market awaits the latest on US inflation. BTC was also up as asset manager Franklin Templeton filed for a spot bitcoin ETF to add to those of BlackRock, Fidelity and others.

Crypto becoming part of global ecosystem

According to El-Erian, the growing embrace of crypto by big mainstream players can only be good for the sector even amid the wider scope of Fed’s rates path.

“Crypto is settling as part of the ecosystem. People have recognized it’s not the new global currency. People have also realized it’s not going to disappear tomorrow. It’s been institutionalized. If I were a crypto person, this maturation process is a good thing,” he told CNBC.

The investor also noted that headline inflation is likely to “prove much more complicated”, with core inflation less well behaved amid the Fed’s battle to bring it to its desired 2% level. 

In his opinion, the market may have to absorb the notion that the trajectory is “higher for longer.” He also thinks that the assumption is that the Fed will have to cut rates beginning early 2024, but this may not happen.

El-Erian, who said he could not predict where the crypto market is headed in terms of price performance, is however optimistic about crypto’s future in relation to the growing adoption by Wall Street giants. It is this perspective that could outline the potential impact to cryptocurrency prices.