A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is on its way to Wall Street, if market prognosticators are to be believed, and this will be great for the crypto industry. Analysts from CryptoQuant said that the approval of such a product—which investors have been waiting on for over 10 years—will mean institutions flood the space with cash, in turn leading the price of Bitcoin to rocket. Others, like Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social-trading platform Alpha Impact, who spoke to Bloomberg, have posited that the approval of a Bitcoin ETF has already been priced in, meaning there’s a low chance the price will sustain any massive gains. But even if the market cap and price of Bitcoin does go through the roof and the entire crypto industry thrives, will it be a good thing? Privacy-focused Bitcoiners have even said that such a product goes against everything that Bitcoin stands for. Experts like those at Nym Technologies and Wasabi Wallet previously told Decrypt that Wall Street interest in the cryptocurrency could lead governments to strongarm crypto users into restriction, penalties, or taxes. Others have argued that with Wall Street titans barging in on the market, the cryptocurrency will become more centralized and correlated with traditional stocks. Bitcoiners have been waiting and hoping for years that the coin would decouple from securities. Bob Bodily, CEO of Ordinals marketplace Bioniq, told Decrypt that a Bitcoin ETF could ruin Bitcoin’s original censorship resistant promise. Craig Raw, developer of the Bitcoin Sparrow Wallet, added that privacy and profits don’t always go hand-in-hand. While the cypherpunks, advocates who want social change via cryptographic tools, want people to have private interactions. Institutions care about their bottom line. Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long said back in 2018 that while such a product could be good for the industry, the financialization of the crypto world could be bad if it leads to too much liquidity from leveraged traders wanting quick, short-term gains entering the market. Analysts right now say that—for better or worse—it’s now just a matter of time before a Bitcoin ETF hits Wall Street. JP Morgan has even said it could happen before Christmas. The product is likely to lead to a ton of money flooding into the space—but will Bitcoin keep its original qualities? #BitcoinETF #CryptoIndustry #WallStreet #BitcoinCensorship #PrivacyAdvocates
You can read more about this topic here: Decrypt: Do Bitcoiners Even Want an ETF?
