Meh. Most people can’t do private key management. But these people can do ETF’s. Is ETF ideal from a self sovereignty perspective? Nope. Not even close. But there are many many people that need a trustworthy third party custody based bitcoin solution. Will that trust be violated? Probably someday. But it doesn’t happen that often with registered securities and happens quite frequently with “bitcoin exchanges.”
Discussion
I would add that people who can only get exposure to Bitcoin via an ETF either because their only funds are tied up in traditional finance or they won’t/don’t feel comfortable holding their own keys will be a net benefit for Bitcoin. These people will be incentivized to see Bitcoin succeed since they will have a vested interest.
I get a tax break for putting money into a retirement account. Think of it as a bonus 50% return on day 1…anyhow, I have GBTC in that account since 2018…it’s not a huge part of my stack, but, I can’t use that money for any asset I want, only what custodian allows me to purchase. In fact, I can’t take custody of that untaxed asset until I pay tax or get old. ETF would be better for folks like me than GBTC.