The recent entry of Morgan Stanley into the US spot bitcoin ETF market has been seen by some as a catalyst to end the current crypto bear market, thanks to the vast distribution power of the company's $8 trillion wealth management network. However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back has a more cautious outlook, stating that institutional adoption is a slow process that won't happen overnight. According to Back, the ETFs are a significant development, but it takes longer than most people realize for institutional investors to allocate their funds.
He notes that even when major institutions like BlackRock recommend a 2-4% allocation to bitcoin, the actual investment process can take up to a year or 18 months. Back also points out that the US presidency's crypto-friendly stance has improved the regulatory environment, but the established bitcoin ETFs have the power to transcend administrations.
Additionally, he 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.