PANews May 30 news, according to Cointelegraph, David Prinçay, president of Binance France, said that the US spot Bitcoin ETF is the first tool that enables institutions to easily invest in Bitcoin. He said: "Before ETFs, institutions had excuses saying: We want our retail investors to get in touch with Bitcoin, but we don't know how to choose the right products, and there is insufficient trust. The emergence of ETFs provides institutions with a tool to integrate these types of products into traditional products." According to Prinçay, before the ETF was approved, large financial institutions in Europe could not invest in Bitcoin, but now it has changed: Previously, French banks could not invest in Bitcoin; and BNP Paribas invested in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter of 2024. Although the initial investment was only $41,684, which is less than the value of a Bitcoin, Prinçay described the investment as mainly "symbolic."
Thanks to the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin is increasingly being viewed as a financial asset for retirement, even by mainstream investors. “Before, only early adopters thought that Bitcoin would be their retirement vehicle,” Prinçay explained. “Now, everyone is thinking about putting 1%, 2%, or maybe 5% of their 401(k) into Bitcoin.” Some large financial institutions, such as Fidelity, allow investors to invest directly in Bitcoin ETFs through their 401(k) retirement plans. In addition, Prinçay added that such investments bring long-term capital and may help reduce volatility: “A 401(k) is not a traditional transaction like buying and selling stocks every day. It is not a daily trading activity. It is a long-term activity… In terms of security, Bitcoin may become one of the preferred assets in a 401(k).”
Despite the promise of introducing more baby boomers to the Bitcoin market, more than 85% of the underlying Bitcoin is held by retail investors and only 10% by hedge funds. In addition, Prinçay explained that these retail investors are not just retail crypto investors who previously held Bitcoin in cold wallets, but also retail investors in traditional finance. According to Dune data, since its launch, the US spot Bitcoin ETF has absorbed 4.29% of the Bitcoin supply.
