Spot bitcoin ETFs are helping to meet demand for bitcoin, which had been building up for a while, according to BlackRock Managing Director Tony Ashraf.

"What we're really seeing over the past couple of months is that pent-up demand being satisfied because of the ETFs," said Ashraf on a panel about bitcoin ETFs at the Digital Asset Conference in London. 

Ashraf noted that new investors are entering the crypto space because ETFs are providing a newer level of access to many investors.

Michael Sonneshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments — which operates a spot bitcoin ETF — concurred with his view. He observed that there’s been explosive growth in the ETFs in general, which has met the pent-up demand. He mentioned that we are now in a phase between that stage and the next one, which …