---
title: "Why this Wall Street veteran is betting on Avalanche"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/292217796.md"
description: "In an interview with The Block, Avalanche Treasury Company (AVAT) CEO Bart Smith discusses the investment thesis for AVAT as a vehicle for regulated exposure to AVAX. He highlights the importance of productive assets in real-world asset tokenization and expresses strong confidence in crypto's long-term investment potential, drawing on his Wall Street and ETF background."
datetime: "2026-07-09T15:03:40.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/292217796.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292217796.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/292217796.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# Why this Wall Street veteran is betting on Avalanche

***Episode 16 of Layer One, hosted by The Block's Kelvin Sparks, was recorded with Avalanche Treasury Company (AVAT) CEO Bart Smith.***

*Listen below, and subscribe to Layer One on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblock.co.*

In Episode 16 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks was joined by Avalanche Treasury Company (AVAT) CEO Bart Smith. Bart explained the thesis behind treasury companies as a way to get regulated, permanent-capital exposure to AVAX and the Avalanche ecosystem. He also covers his Wall Street/ETF background, why real-world-asset tokenization needs "productive" assets to matter, and why he thinks crypto's investment thesis is stronger than ever.

**OUTLINE** 00:00 - Introduction

01:22 - What Is AVAT?

03:59 - Wall Street Roots & Crypto's Rise

06:19 - The Bitcoin ETF Bet

08:58 - Hiring a COO

11:13 - Why Own AVAT?

15:56 - Scaling Avalanche & RWAs

22:54 - DeFi, TradFi & AI Fears

33:03 - Policy Risks & RWA Forecast

40:08 - Closing Thoughts

**GUEST LINKS** Bart Smith - https://twitter.com/gbartsmith

AVAT - https://twitter.com/avat\_co

**HOST LINKS**

John Wu - ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/John1wu

Kelvin Sparks - https://x.com/imyoungsparks⁠⁠⁠

The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo

Ava Labs - https://x.com/avalabs

Avalanche - https://x.com/avax

**The Block Newsletters** The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

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Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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---
> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**