There Is 'Overwhelming Demand' for Crypto ETFs, Mitchnick Says

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, said demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs remains “overwhelming,” arguing that recent cold-wallet hacks highlight risks in self-custody rather than flaws in Bitcoin itself. He framed ETFs as a simpler, trusted wrapper for investors who want exposure without managing crypto security. The discussion also noted that in-kind Bitcoin ETF creations are growing, though still a minority of flows, and minimum sizes have fallen from $25 million to about $1 million. Mitchnick said ETF investors remain mostly long-term buy-and-hold holders despite Bitcoin’s pullback to around the mid-$60,000s after earlier purchases at $100,000-plus. He also said Bitcoin has increasingly decoupled from equities, supporting its diversification thesis. BlackRock’s new Bitcoin premium income ETF was described as a slower-growing product aimed at investors seeking a mid- to high-teens target yield with reduced volatility and some upside tradeoff.