According to PANews, during a discussion at Token2049 in Dubai, Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, highlighted a significant shift in Bitcoin ETF investments from retail to institutional clients. Initially dominated by retail investors, including high-net-worth individuals with over $100 million, the ETF landscape is now seeing a quarterly decline in retail holdings and a rise in institutional and wealth advisor participation. Mitchnick emphasized that this transition requires a longer adaptation period.
He also noted that while viewing Bitcoin as a leveraged beta of tech stocks is unreasonable, it could be considered a safe haven or a hedge against non-monetary risks, prompting investors to include it in their portfolios. Regarding other cryptocurrency ETFs, Mitchnick pointed out that their investment positioning differs from Bitcoin, with current market interest still heavily focused on Bitcoin.
Mitchnick expressed caution about potential new ETF policies under the new SEC Chairman, Paul Atkins, suggesting that the regulatory framework might complicate certain matters.