BlackRock's Head of U.S. iShares, Jay Jacobs, stated in a podcast interview that institutional investors are interested in Bitcoin ETFs not merely for custody, but for financialization. According to Cryptobriefing, he explained, "The main driving force behind Bitcoin's integration into traditional financial markets in the form of an ETF is not about safely storing Bitcoin, but about enabling it to be used as collateral, traded with options, and borrowed against, just like other financial assets. The ETF structure was preferred to utilize Bitcoin like a traditional financial asset."
