The Block18 minutes ago

Published on January 15, 2024 19:24 GMT+00:00edited on January 15, 2024 19:24 GMT+00:00

Bitcoin has officially gone mainstream in the U.S. after the approval of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs. Products by issuers such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise debuted on Thursday and exceeded $7 billion in cumulative trading volume over the first two days of trading.

For years, the crypto industry has been waiting for this approval to bring a huge inflow of fresh funds into the market, which is now open to the largest legacy finance firms and crypto-curious retail investors who are not ready for the technicalities of crypto. 

However, bitcoin meeting Wall Street has its risks, too. Some long-time bitcoiners point at potentially increasing concentration of bitcoin ownership in the hands of a small group of institutions, potential rehypothecation and changes in the way the bitcoin …