The recent arrival of Morgan Stanley in the US spot bitcoin ETF market has been viewed by some as a catalyst to end the current crypto bear market, given 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 and recently speculated to be the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto - a claim he denies, cautions that the process will be slower than anticipated.
Back notes that while bitcoin ETFs are a significant development in terms of positive market signals, even more so than a pro-crypto US administration, institutional adoption is very slow. He explains that investors do not immediately invest, and a buildup could take up to a year or 18 months.
Founded in 2014 by Back and other prominent Bitcoin developers, Blockstream offers self-custody wallets, layer-2 network settlement, and asset issuance to retail and institutional clients. The company's CEO also points out that the regulatory influence, particularly the Trump administration's crypto-friendly stance, has improved the framework for crypto business in the US, indirectly encouraging other jurisdictions to follow suit. Back believes that the established bitcoin ETFs have the power to transcend administrations and that providers like Black Rock will defend their business interests.
Another factor to consider is bitcoin's cyclical nature, driven by the quadrennial halving event, which often leads to a bull run followed by a bear market. Back also addresses concerns about quantum computing's potential to break Bitcoin's cryptography, stating that while institutions may pay attention to such risks, they are more systematic about risk assessment and look for ways to mitigate them.