Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicts bitcoin will increasingly integrate into traditional finance, with hedge funds, pension funds, and corporations showing growing interest in the world's first cryptocurrency.

Ardoino, who spoke Tuesday during an online event hosted by Bitfinex alongside Blockstream CEO Adam Back, said he expects more fund managers will be interested in adding bitcoin to their portfolios following the approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S. Fund managers are increasingly interested in adding up to five percent of their portfolio in bitcoin, he said. 

Companies will also keep bitcoin on their balance sheets, Ardoino said, adding that spot bitcoin ETFs have since provided legitimacy. So far, only a handful of companies have bitcoin holdings …