© Reuters
Samson Mow, the Chief Strategy Officer at BlockStream and CEO at Pixelmatic, has forecasted a possible bifurcation of into two distinct categories. The prediction was made during a video interview on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
Mow’s prognosis comes in the wake of increasing interest in Bitcoin from financial giants such as BlackRock (NYSE:), which recently initiated Bitcoin spot exchange-traded Funds (ETFs). He perceives this surge of institutional interest as an affirmation of Bitcoin’s standing as a legitimate investment and its potential future role as a reserve asset.
Despite this validation, Mow also warned about the potential negative implications of this institutional “Bitcoin fever.” He suggested that it could lead to the creation of “institutional” and “normal” Bitcoin. The concept of “institutional Bitcoin,” according to Mow, might become confined within the system as corporations like BlackRock are hesitant to release their BTC holdings.
This scenario could result in two separate BTC prices. “Institutional Bitcoin” may trade at a discount due to its limited utility compared to “normal Bitcoin.” On the other hand, “free Bitcoin” might trade at a premium and be removed from the market in a process similar to cryptocurrency “burning.”
Before this prediction, Mow had encouraged the Bitcoin community to transition their BTC from exchanges into self-custody. This move, he insists, is the only way for investors to verify the existence of their acquired BTC.
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This story originally appeared on Investing
