If Blackrock wants PoS why didn't they apply for a Eth ETF? \ stacker news ~bitcoin

pull down to refresh

If Blackrock wants PoS why didn't they apply for a Eth ETF?

23 sats \ 9 comments \ @kepford 23 Jun 2023 bitcoin

Why didn't Blackrock apply for a eth ETF? People keep saying Blackrock will fork bitcoin and make it PoS. There is already a proof of stake crypto currency that seems to love the existing system with all of its compliance and regulation.

If Blackrock wanted to kill bitcoin wouldn't make more sense to back eth? Don't get me wrong. I think we should be very suspicious of Blackrock. My guess is that they know something. Blackrock is very powerful and well connected. I find it hard to believe that the timing of the recent SEC actions and this application are a coincidence.

What do you think?

view all related items

30 sats \ 3 replies \ @grayruby 23 Jun 2023

Blackrock is not going to fork Bitcoin. They want to make fees off rich boomers, pension funds, etc who don't know how to self custody bitcoin. It's a standard disclosure.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford OP 23 Jun 2023

The other angle that is bullish is that this clearly signals that there is more untapped demand for bitcoin. People still don't understand what it is, how it works, but they know there is something there they want a piece of. This used to annoy me because people didn't get it but people don't get a lot of things they trust in and we don't have to have everyone understanding bicoin for it to win. If you think about the average person that is working a job they don't understand many many things that they just "believe" in. They follow the crowd. That isn't gonna change. What needs to change is who they follow and what they trust in. It will change. We figured it out before them and our behavior is leading the way.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 23 Jun 2023

Agree. Most people will never understand bitcoin just as most people don't understand the fiat system. Access is good. We just need to keep doing our part and convincing folks to learn more and push self custody as much as we can. Even custodial solutions like unchained for those that really aren't comfortable holding their own keys. It took me a year and a half to convince my best friend to get his bitcoin off cryptocom and it was the FTX debacle and it looking like cryptocom was next that finally convinced him. I was at the point I was going to order a hardware wallet, have it shipped to his house and show up there and not leave until he got his bitcoin off the exchange but he was very motivated when he thought he was about to get FTXd so it didn't get to that point. Haha

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 23 Jun 2023

That's what I think is most likely. Bitcoin's incentive structure is one of its best attributes and their greed for more wealth outweighs any ideological bent IMO.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @0000 23 Jun 2023

There is your problem. "People keep saying". What did Blackrock themselves say, specifically and verbatim? That is a good place to start.

21 sats \ 3 replies \ @kepford OP 23 Jun 2023

With respect to any fork, airdrop or similar event, the Sponsor shall, in its sole discretion, determine what action the Trust shall take. In the event of a fork, the Sponsor will, as permitted by the terms of the Trust Agreement, determine which network it believes is generally accepted as the Bitcoin network and should therefore be considered the appropriate network, and the associated asset as bitcoin, for the Trust’s purposes. The Sponsor may decide to cause the Trust to sell any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency for cash (including, as determined by the Sponsor, in the case of a fork, the asset that is not generally accepted as bitcoin, or in the case of an airdrop, the airdropped asset) and distribute the cash proceeds or distribute them in-kind to DTC, and registered holders of Shares are entitled to receive such distributions in proportion to the number of shares owned. However, the Sponsor may instead determine, in its sole discretion, to permanently and irrevocably abandon such Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency for no consideration. In the case of abandonment of Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency, the Trust would not receive any direct or indirect consideration for the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency and thus the value of the Shares will not reflect the value of the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency.

Blackrock's FORM S-1 for ETF

There isn't a smoking gun. This block of text doesn't signal to me anything malicious. It seems obvious that you would want to outline what you have the right to do in the even that there is a fork. They are reserving the right to make the call.

I don't have a problem. I wanna hear what others think. We are all speculating on the future. I asking people that think they will fork or support a fork of bitcoin why wouldn't they just apply for a eth ETF? What is the game theory here?

One way to look at it is that they wouldn't waste their time with eth. Eth is gonna be legally considered a security so they went with BTC. Another is that BTC is clearly superior in the eyes of Blackrock. Another is that they want to destroy bitcoin by forking it, but why would they do this? Maybe they want to control bitcoin and they don't need to do much at all to control eth so why waste their time. It is already controlled. The way I see it, any way you slice it this is bad for eth and good for bitcoin. It may mean a new battle but the battles will come.

33 sats \ 2 replies \ @0000 23 Jun 2023

I think this scenario is unlikely, but I think I understand why they explicitly added that wording. I don't think they have any interest in forking themselves, but if there is a major event where Bitcoin does fork and a majority of node operators and miners switch to the fork Blackrock needs some legal authority to participate in the vote.

However, I don't think this means they will fork Bitcoin with a PoS version (Why not just advocate for Eth at that point?) because at the end of the day Blackrock is launching this ETF due to demand from their OWN CLIENTS.

Do we honestly believe that say, 20 years from now when people are using these instruments as exposure to their 401k and Blackrock suddenly decides to fork their holdings into a new shitcoin people will just be OK with their portfolio tanking harder than they have ever seen before? Because that is exactly what would happen and Blackrock knows it. A fork is a completely different asset. Not only that, but I am sure despite how big Blackrock is there is plenty of legal trouble they can still be accountable for.

I think if anything just like you and me did, they will eventually come to a more clear understanding of Bitcoin and instead encourage greener Bitcoin mining initiatives. I don't know why people assume that isn't on the table. We really like to think of all the toxic scenarios too much.

300 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford OP 23 Jun 2023

Yes. Exactly.

I like that bitcoiners plan for the worst but it can lead to stupid anti-logical thinking. Bitcoin isn't fragile but bitcoiners can be.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @0000 23 Jun 2023

You nailed it and said it much more clear than I can but that is exactly it. Sometimes the hyper paranoia and just all of it results in people forgetting the facts of the situation. Once you realize the unstoppable nature of Bitcoin, so many of the political subjects surrounding it just become pure noise.