Many stakeholders in the crypto industry have welcomed the idea that traditional finance companies are a Discover the Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), as they believe it will further drive cryptocurrency adoption. The former CEO and co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, Arthur Hayesseems to oppose this measure.
Problems with BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF filing
In a after Posting on his Substack platform, Hayes expressed his displeasure with the recent spate of Spot Bitcoin ETF applications by prominent traditional financial (TradFi) institutions, including BlackRock.
Contrary to public opinion, he does not believe it TradFi Settings are optimistic about crypto. Instead, they are in the process of becoming “crypto gatekeepers” to balance their deposit base, explaining that these companies plan to offer ETFs or a similar investment product with crypto as an underlying asset to achieve this.
He stated that since these fund managers will be the “only game in town,” they could charge investors huge fees in exchange for their investment products.
According to him, institutions like BlackRock recognize that cryptocurrencies can be used to hedge against inflation and have a significant impact on the future economy. So they want to have it ‘under their control’ when that happens.
He believes that the only times these companies have done a “good job” is by portraying the crypto industry and cryptocurrencies in a bad light. government. As such, they will have a hard time changing the narrative to get around the federal government’s proposed inflation tax on bank depositors.
The founder of Bitmex suggested that the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) undermining of the crypto industry was never about the technology itself, but who owned it.
He believes those who had previously tried to get a Bitcoin ETF approved faced disapproval based on their status. However, the regulator seems to welcome the idea more because of the prestige of BlackRock and its CEO. Larry Fink.
BTC price falls to $26,300 territory | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
TradFi doesn’t care about decentralization
Hayes noted that the banks and financial regulators could work together to uphold dollar sovereignty. According to him, this can be easily achieved if both parties agree to ensure that all crypto exchanges are made in the US dollar and not in the “physical crypto” itself.
These US dollars will then be put back into the banking system, which he says is already at risk.
Hayes is more concerned that this is all contradictory from Satoshi vision of creating a decentralized financial system and he believes BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink doesn’t care about decentralization.
He emphasized that Fink and BlackRock’s business model is based on centralization, adding that asset managers like BlackRock do not add value to the Bitcoin enhancement proposals, such as increased privacy or resistance to censorship.
Instead, the fact that these asset managers will offer ETFs means they have more control over large voting blocs and can influence board decisions.
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