이정환 미래에셋자산 상무 “비트코인 현물 ETF, 시장 규모 더욱 확대한다” [KCMC 2025]

디지털 자산 시장이 새로운 전환점을 맞이했다

미래에셋자산 이정환 상무가 KCMC 2025에서 비트코인 현물 ETF가 시장 규모를 더욱 확대할 것이라고 전망했다. 디지털 자산의 기관화가 본격화되면서 기존 금융 시장과의 경계가 무너지고 있다.

시장 구조의 변화

비트코인 현물 ETF 승인으로 기관 투자자들의 디지털 자산 접근성이 크게 개선됐다. 이제는 연금基金부터 헤지펀드까지 전통 금융 시장의 주요 플레이어들이 암호화폐 시장에 진입하고 있다.

유동성의 대변환

기관 자본의 유입은 시장 유동성을 급격히 확대시키고 있다. 개인 투자자 중심이었던 암호화폐 시장이 기관급 거래량을 처리할 수 있는 인프라로 빠르게 진화 중이다.

규제 환경의 진화

전 세계 금융 당국이 디지털 자산에 대한 규제 프레임워크를 정비하면서 시장의 안정성이 높아지고 있다. 이는 장기적인 성장 토대를 마련하는 계기가 되고 있다.

전문가들은 "기관 자본이 몰려오지만, 여전히 월가의 수수료 구조는 변하지 않는다"고 지적한다. 디지털 자산 시장이 성숙해감에 따라 전통 금융의 오래된 관행이 새로운 형태로 재현되고 있는 셈이다.

Image source: Getty Images.

This new Buffett stock is flying under the radar

(NUE 2.52%) is a recent addition to Warren Buffett's portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway first revealed a stake in the steel giant in its August 14 regulatory filing, disclosing a purchase of 6.6 million shares valued at $857 million at the end of the second quarter.

Buffett typically looks for high-quality businesses with wide economic moats, and which are available at attractive prices. Nucor checks all three boxes. Nucor is the largest and most diversified steel producer in North America, uses cost-effective and flexible electric arc furnaces instead of traditional blast furnaces to manufacture steel, and uses scrap as the primary raw material. That makes Nucor a low-cost, vertically integrated industry leader that enjoys huge economies of scale. Nucor is also a financially strong company and a Dividend King, having increased its dividend for at least 50 consecutive years.

NUE data by YCharts

Nucor's stock has fallen of late partly because of a muted guidance for the third quarter. That's exactly the kind of situation you should take advantage of.

Nucor is not facing a volume or pricing pressure. Far from it. In fact, it recently raised prices and its steel mills backlog surged 30% year over year in Q3. Nucor's margins are under a bit of pressure because of a lag in the realization of higher prices and a modest impact of tariffs. It's a short-term blip in what remains a compelling long-term growth story, driven by rising spends on infrastructure, especially in industries like data centers, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, and defense.

A wealth-compounding Buffett stock

(V 0.67%) is another wide-moat stock from Buffett's portfolio. If you check the credit and debit cards in your wallet, chances are at least one of them carries the Visa logo. That's how deeply embedded Visa is, and it's not just the U.S. Visa is the largest payments processing company in the world, with 4.7 billion credentials (credit, debit, and digital cards) in fiscal year 2024.

V data by YCharts

Visa doesn't issue these cards but only processes payments made through them. It's a high-volume, high-profit business. Last fiscal year, it processed transactions worth nearly $15.7 trillion over its network, driving its revenue up 10% to almost $36 billion. Visa earned an operating margin of 65% in the year. Margins north of 60% are normal for Visa. It generated $22 billion in free cash flows in the past twelve months.

Visa has massive growth opportunities ahead. While its Core card-based consumer payments business can benefit from secular trends like digitalization and e-commerce, expansion into non-card payments, commercial and money movement, and value-added services like risk management and advisory solutions should fuel the next leg of growth. Visa has been a constant in Buffett's portfolio since 2011. It should find a place in your portfolio too.

A big acquisition puts this Buffett stock on the growth track

Buffett wasn't always enthusiastic about energy stocks. He first bought shares in(CVX -0.37%) came in late 2020. While his position in Chevron has fluctuated since with multiple purchase and sell transactions, the stock remains a CORE Berkshire Hathaway holding. As of June 30, 2025, Chevron was the fifth- largest stock in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.

Chevron is among the world's largest integrated energy companies and a prominent oil and gas producer. It's a volatile business, but Chevron's financial fortitude helped it weather cycles. Buffett likes industry leaders that are also financially strong, but the stock's dividend record record is another compelling factor. Chevron has increased its dividend in each of the past 38 years.

Chevron has just acquired Hess in a $60-billion deal that could be a game-changer. The acquisition has added oil-rich assets in Guyana to Chevron's prolific asset base and is expected to drive significant production and cash-flow growth through 2030. For now, Chevron expects to generate incremental free cash flows worth $12.5 billion by 2026 off a 2024 base, which should support bigger dividends and share buybacks. In the long term, all of it should pay off as solid returns for inevstors.