Trezor Executive: Bitcoin 'All-In on ETF' Pathway Is the Worst, Threatens Core Principle of Self-Custody

BlockBeats News, June 15th - A hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor executive stated that the market's trend towards fully pushing Bitcoin into ETFs may pose a long-term risk to the core principles of the crypto industry.

According to the company's Chief Business Officer Danny Sanders' views during the BTC Prague event, the current global crypto user base is approximately 600 million, but only about 10% of users choose self-custody of assets, with hardware wallet users numbering only around 12 to 13 million.

With the U.S. physically-backed Bitcoin ETF attracting over $53 billion in cumulative inflows since its launch in 2024, Bitcoin's institutionalized allocation has significantly increased. However, Sanders pointed out that this trend may also weaken the behavior of users holding their keys directly.

He believes that self-custody is one of the core attributes of the Bitcoin system, but there are still significant challenges in terms of user experience and security barriers. More users still prefer to participate in the market through exchanges or custodial tools like ETFs.

Sanders emphasized that the industry should focus on improving the usability and security of self-custody, rather than simply accepting the path of "putting Bitcoin into an ETF." He stated that if the long-term evolution leads to an ETF-dominated holding structure, it will weaken the foundational logic of Bitcoin as a decentralized asset, which could be the industry's "least desirable outcome."