The recent entry of Morgan Stanley into the US spot bitcoin ETF market has been perceived by some as a catalyst to end the current crypto bear market, thanks to the vast distribution power of the Wall Street wirehouse's $8 trillion wealth management network. However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back, an early contributor to the Bitcoin community, has a more cautious outlook. He believes that while bitcoin ETFs are a significant development, institutional adoption will take longer than anticipated. Back notes that investors do not immediately invest, and a build-up of investment could take up to a year or 18 months.
He also points out that the US presidency has introduced a new legislative framework for crypto, which has encouraged other jurisdictions to follow suit. Additionally, the establishment of bitcoin ETFs has the power to transcend administrations, with major financial institutions such as Black Rock and Morgan Stanley likely to defend their business interests. Back also discusses the cyclical nature of bitcoin's price, driven by the quadrennial halving event, and the potential impact of quantum computing on the cryptocurrency's cryptography.