Wall Street Firms Enter Bitcoin Market, Raising Decentralization Concerns
• Wall Street institutions like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs are entering the bitcoin market after SEC approved bitcoin ETFs, raising questions around how this could impact Bitcoin's power dynamics.
• There are concerns these large regulated entities may push for "clean" bitcoins mined with renewable energy or untouched by illicit activity, changing miner and user behavior.
• However, Bitcoin has previously seen power struggles like the 2017 "Block Size Wars" where the community successfully resisted changes to decentralization.
• While new institutional ETF investment could be very large, Bitcoin whales and long-term HODLers still control significant coin supply and influence.
• If a battle emerges over Bitcoin's future, it will likely be intensely fought given the decentralized community's resistance to forced change.