Bloomberg crypto market analyst Jamie Coutts says that Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) may be at risk of being taken over by the powerhouses of the legacy financial system.<\/p>\n Addressing his followers on social media platform X, Coutts shares<\/a> data showing that BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, began getting proxy exposure to Bitcoin in 2020 via shares of mining giant Marathon Digital.<\/p>\n He says BlackRock\u2019s move may have foreshadowed its recent application<\/a> for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).<\/p>\n \u201cIn hindsight, BlackRock\u2019s massive Bitcoin spot ETF play shouldn\u2019t have been that surprising. Along with other behemoths (Vanguard, StateStreet) who espouse ESG (environmental, social and governance)-driven investing principles, they started scooping up public mining stock back in 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n BlackRock began investing in Marathon Digital, the second-largest publicly traded miner, three years ago when hostility to mining was fever-pitched \u2013 perhaps due to the industry\u2019s heavy reliance on fossil fuels at the time (or for other reasons\u2026)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The analyst says that the biggest asset managers in the world have now emerged as the dominant investors of the three biggest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, accounting for roughly 8.9% of all hash power.<\/p>\n Coutts says that such an \u201cinstitutionalization\u201d of Bitcoin may bring new challenges, such as the larger players not having the same goals and interests for the network as the smaller entities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis shouldn\u2019t be taken as FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) \u2013 a \u201c51% attack\u201d, in which actor\/s control most of the hash rate, is not on the cards \u2013 the economics and rationale do not make sense. However, there may be a risk of creeping influence that might conflict with the values of the network.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n This conflict could involve misaligned ESG objectives or potential censorship of transactions. Neither would prevent the chain from operating; other miners could process censored transactions (while collecting the fees).<\/em><\/p>\n But, given the activist tendencies of these big asset managers, it remains unclear if their intentions toward Bitcoin miners will be passive in nature.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Don’t Miss a Beat \u2013 Subscribe<\/a> to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox <\/span><\/em>
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