Wu said he learned that Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, on the show The Wolf of All Streets, said he estimates that about 2%–3% of the net inflows to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT may come from investors who previously held Bitcoin using self-custody. He believes that although the percentage is not high, given the overall size of IBIT’s net inflows, the absolute amount is still considerable and may increase over time. Balchunas said that for Bitcoin users who value censorship resistance, self-custody and direct use of the Bitcoin network are still irreplaceable; but for investors who mainly view Bitcoin as a hedge against fiat currency depreciation, an ETF is attractive in terms of convenience and asset management. He also believes that the core group of users who are firmly committed to self-custody of Bitcoin is unlikely to move to ETFs.
