In the first days after trading began, billions of dollars were invested in Bitcoin spot ETFs. Overall, these exchange-traded funds have quickly become some of the most popular investment vehicles in the American stock market. However, they may not align with the “core ideals” of cryptocurrencies.

Eco CEO Andy Bromberg believes ETFs could give traditional financial institutions undue influence over the coin market. Here is the corresponding remark on this matter, given by Cointelegraph.

By buying one of these ETFs, you are essentially giving Wall Street money to buy Bitcoin. They own the coins, and you own the piece of paper that says you have a stake in it.

The new Bitcoin ETFs are spot ETFs. This means that they are based on full-fledged BTC, and not derivatives on them like futures. Accordingly, in order to operate and develop their own investment products, issuing companies are forced to purchase BTC to provide shares for their ETFs, which is what triggered the market growth in the second half of 2023.

Too much dependence on professional institutional investors is a departure from the “traditional values” of Bitcoin.

Suku chief technology officer Lukas Henning is also wary of the long-term negative impact of the ETF’s approval. They supposedly won’t be able to capture the public’s attention for long, since most altcoins simply won’t receive the same approval from the SEC. Here is his quote.

The next trend could potentially be an Ethereum ETF. If it is approved, large investors will want to delve deeper into the decentralized finance industry with its good returns and interest. However, the SEC will most likely refuse this.

The participation of Wall Street investors in the cryptocurrency industry is unlikely to kill Bitcoin and the coin niche as a whole. Still, many fans of decentralization will still use crypto exchanges to buy coins and then withdraw them to non-custodial storage. In addition, the massive purchase of the same BTC will significantly affect the cost of the coin, which in turn will directly affect the ability of investors to replenish their own cryptocurrency reserves.