Trezor: Bitcoin ETF as only option is the worst scenario

Danny Sanders, Chief Commercial Officer of hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor, is sounding the alarm about the growing popularity of Bitcoin ETFs. In his view, it is a negative development if investors massively choose ETFs instead of managing their own private keys. He argues for making self-custody more accessible to a broader audience.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

Only 10% Manage Their Own Bitcoin

Sanders made his remarks during BTC Prague. He paints a striking picture of the current state of the crypto sector: globally, the industry counts around 600 million users, but only about 10% of them manage their own Bitcoin. Even smaller is the group that uses a hardware wallet, namely about 12 to 13 million people.

These figures show how wide the gap still is between the ideal of financial independence and daily practice. With self-custody, the user is the only one with access to their coins, without the involvement of exchanges or other custodians. That is in direct opposition to the model of an ETF, where a third party holds the Bitcoin on behalf of the investor.

Self-Custody Must Become Easier

Sanders acknowledges that there are still significant challenges when it comes to onboarding new users toward self-custody. Yet he argues that the sector should focus on this instead of encouraging people to park their Bitcoin with intermediaries. Especially now that Bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows for five consecutive weeks, the debate about the value of direct ownership is more relevant than ever.

His message is clear: simply shifting to an ETF contradicts the fundamental principles of Bitcoin. As long as the majority of users remain dependent on central custodians, the original idea behind Bitcoin misses its mark. Available crypto wallets are becoming more user-friendly, but user awareness remains a bottleneck. The Bitcoin price currently stands at $66.799. an increase of 4.9% in the past 24 hours.