{"id":73078,"date":"2026-05-26T06:23:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T06:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/meltem-demirors-says-banks-won-as-bitcoin-etfs-pull-crypto-into-wall-streets-orbit\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T06:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T06:23:46","slug":"meltem-demirors-says-banks-won-as-bitcoin-etfs-pull-crypto-into-wall-streets-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/meltem-demirors-says-banks-won-as-bitcoin-etfs-pull-crypto-into-wall-streets-orbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Meltem Demirors Says Banks Won as Bitcoin ETFs Pull Crypto Into Wall Street\u2019s Orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Meltem Demirors argued on Fox Business that spot ETFs triggered an institutional identity crisis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Purists fear Wall Street asset managers stall utility, leaving bitcoin as just a speculative risk asset.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Up next: Crypto may shift to serve as infrastructure for AI or continue backing economic lifelines in the Global South.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Institutional Paradox<\/h2>\n<p>Meltem Demirors, founder and general partner of early-stage fund Crucible, argues that institutional access hasn\u2019t made <span>bitcoin<\/span> more useful. Instead, it has triggered an identity crisis, absorbing <span>crypto<\/span> into the very financial system it was built to disrupt. Speaking during a recent interview on Fox Business, Demirors specifically identified spot <span>bitcoin<\/span> exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a decision that supports her argument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy view is [that] <span>crypto<\/span> has an identity crisis. Shoving <span>bitcoin<\/span> into ETF did nothing to make <span>bitcoin<\/span> more useful. I spent 11 years of my life extremely excited about the opportunity to use <span>bitcoin<\/span> and <span>crypto<\/span> to change the financial system. Ultimately, the banks won,\u201d Demirors <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LarkDavis\/status\/2058811107377057893\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> in the interview.<\/p>\n<p>Built on cyberpunk ideals, <span>bitcoin<\/span> was envisioned as a decentralized and peer-to-peer electronic cash system that bypasses central banks and operates outside traditional financial structures. However, in the last few years, the focus has pivoted toward building infrastructure to support institutional ETFs and onboarding Wall Street capital. This is in addition to its use as an investment or speculative asset.<\/p>\n<p>A significant facet of Demirors\u2019 current thesis is that <span>crypto<\/span> is shifting from being purely an alternative financial network to serving as foundational infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI). This shifts <span>crypto<\/span>\u2019s identity from a \u201csovereign currency alternative\u201d to a B2B tech utility layer, fundamentally changing who uses it and why.<\/p>\n<p> <span>Bitcoin<\/span>\u2019s perceived pivot has increasingly alienated early supporters of the <span>cryptocurrency<\/span>, with some, like Mark Cuban, dumping most of his <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/status\/2057481702801285341\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coins<\/a>. Others are now <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/raoul-pal-backs-zcash-as-bitcoins-younger-sibling-while-zec-climbs-8-outpacing-altcoins\/\">touting coins<\/a> like Zcash as digital assets that still adhere to <span>crypto<\/span>\u2019s founding principles.<\/p>\n<p>However, pragmatists have pushed back on Demirors\u2019 assertions, insisting that the integration of <span>crypto<\/span> not only into traditional financial systems but also into political campaigns and regulatory frameworks is a necessary maturation. For this faction, survival and scale require playing by the rules of traditional finance and state infrastructure. Others, like social media user Shekina Job, believe the current setup is exactly what <span>crypto<\/span> needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c <span>Crypto<\/span> doesn\u2019t need an identity crisis. It needs optionality, self-custody for purists and ETFs for everyday investors. That balance is <span>bullish<\/span> for America,\u201d Job <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ShekinaJob\/status\/2058811504288289097\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> in an X post.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, for purists, this institutional embrace is seen as a dilution of <span>crypto<\/span>\u2019s core principles. They argue that when major asset managers dictate the direction of the market, the technology loses its anti-establishment edge, becoming just another risk-on asset class tightly correlated with tech stocks and macro <span>liquidity<\/span> cycles.<\/p>\n<p>While others believe that ETFs have made <span>bitcoin<\/span> more accessible, they agree with Demirors\u2019 main argument. One social media user said <span>bitcoin<\/span>\u2019s lack of utility makes it just a speculative asset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cETFs won the access battle, but she\u2019s right that utility stalled \u2014 price action without usability is just speculation with extra steps,\u201d the user <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RenSatoshiBTC\/status\/2058813154625454120\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While Western markets debate whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/en\/price\/bitcoin\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bitcoin<\/a> will remain a radical financial alternative or merely morph into a back-end software layer for Wall Street enterprise, the Global South has bypassed the theory entirely. Across developing economies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/en\/price\/bitcoin\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bitcoin<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoins<\/a> are already serving as critical economic lifelines for millions of ordinary citizens. Far from the speculative mania and institutional hype that surrounded the 2024 ETF launches, decentralized digital assets are quietly functioning as hard stores of value against rampant <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-inflation\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inflation<\/a> and providing seamless infrastructure for friction-free cross-border remittances.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/meltem-demirors-says-banks-won-as-bitcoin-etfs-pull-crypto-into-wall-streets-orbit\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Meltem Demirors argued on Fox Business that spot ETFs triggered an institutional identity crisis. Purists fear Wall Street asset managers stall utility, leaving bitcoin as just a speculative risk asset. Up next: Crypto may shift to serve as infrastructure for AI or continue backing economic lifelines [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":73079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73078"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}