Wall Street’s IBIT Power Grab: How Bitcoin Trading is Being Hijacked by Finance Giants
BlackRock's IBIT ETF just flipped the script—Bitcoin is now Wall Street's playground.
| The Institutional Takeover |
Forget 'number go up' memes. The real Bitcoin action's happening in C-suite boardrooms, where suits are quietly building the largest crypto positions in history. IBIT's $20B AUM proves it: money talks, decentralization walks.
| The Irony of 'Trustless' Adoption |
Bitcoin maximalists swore they'd never bow to TradFi. Now they're cheering as the same banks they vilified become the biggest BTC whales. Poetic justice—or just Wall Street doing what it does best: co-opting revolutions and turning them into quarterly earnings calls.
| What's Next? |
Watch the options market. When JPMorgan starts trading Bitcoin derivatives like soybeans, you'll know the transformation is complete. The real question: Will Satoshi's creation survive its own success?
IBIT among the most active ETF Options | Source: Bloomberg
According to Bloomberg, more U.S. institutions are buying into IBIT, with ownership nearly doubling since the end of last year. The way people are using options is changing too. Instead of betting on more gains, investors are using puts to protect against losses. Greg Magadini of Amberdata said this shift “has a natural dampening effect on volatility and prevents panic selling.”
A growing number of Bitcoin-dollar trades now happen during U.S. hours. According to Kaiko, that share has jumped from 41.4% in 2021 to 57.3% in 2025. FalconX Research says about half of all spot Bitcoin volume now flows through U.S.-listed ETFs.
Still, there are limits. U.S. rules only allow 25,000 IBIT option contracts, which could hold back bigger strategies. Nasdaq has asked regulators to raise this limit tenfold through a filing in January. However, the SEC hasn’t responded, but it has until September to decide.
Connectivity between offshore and onshore markets is still clunky. Market makers say different systems make it hard to MOVE money between platforms. According to Bloomberg, Coinbase’s recent $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit in May could help smooth those links. Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers said they’re working on “unified risk frameworks” and easier movement of funds.
Kevin de Patoul, CEO of Keyrock, summed it up: “Eventually, all assets will be digital… and what we now call crypto will just be another part of the financial system.”
Also Read:CEA Industries announce $500M PIPE to Build Largest BNB Treasury
