The recent entry of Morgan Stanley into the US spot bitcoin ETF market has been perceived by some as a catalyst for ending the current cryptocurrency bear market, given the vast distribution power of the company's $8 trillion wealth management network. However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back cautions that the process will be slower than expected.
Back, an early contributor to the Bitcoin community, notes that while bitcoin ETFs are a significant development, institutional adoption is a gradual process. "I think what people may have miscalculated is that institutional adoption is very slow," he said in an interview.
According to Back, the build-up of institutional investment could take up to a year or 18 months. He also points out that the regulatory environment, particularly in the US, has improved under the current presidency, which has introduced a new legislative framework for crypto and launched its own token shop. Back believes that the established bitcoin ETFs have the power to transcend administrations and that companies like BlackRock and Morgan Stanley will defend their bitcoin-related businesses.
Additionally, he discusses the cyclical nature of bitcoin's price, driven by the quadrennial halving event, and the potential impact of quantum computing on bitcoin's cryptography.