BlackRock Exec Reveals Crypto ETF Institutional Adoption Still in Early Innings - XRP and SOL ETF Rumors Remain Unconfirmed

Wall Street's crypto embrace faces reality check as BlackRock executive drops institutional adoption truth bomb.

The Institutional Waiting Game

Major financial players remain hesitant despite Bitcoin ETF approvals—institutional adoption crawls at pension-fund pace rather than crypto-native speed. BlackRock's assessment suggests traditional finance still treats digital assets like experimental technology rather than core portfolio holdings.

The ETF Speculation Circus

XRP and SOL ETF rumors swirl without confirmation—creating the familiar pattern of crypto Twitter euphoria meeting regulatory reality. Market participants chase the next big approval while legacy finance moves at its own deliberate pace.

Wall Street's Cautious Dance

Traditional institutions dip toes rather than dive in—testing waters with small allocations while maintaining plausible deniability. The slow adoption curve reveals more about risk departments than asset potential.

Finance's classic move: arrive fashionably late to the party then complain about the music. Crypto markets continue evolving while institutions play catch-up—the real question isn't if they'll join, but when they'll finally admit they should've joined earlier.

New crypto ETFs unconfirmed

Mitchnick also discussed the framework applied by BlackRock to decide on the launch of new crypto ETFs. Client demand is the primary driver, with the asset manager assessing the level of demand, the logic of the investment, and the problems the product solves.

The next step is evaluating liquidity and maturity, culminating in BlackRock having clarity on its investment thesis and overall product and portfolio considerations.

When questioned about potential ETFs tracking solana and XRP, Mitchnick completely deflected and wouldn’t comment on the matter.

Staking limitations hamper Ethereum products

Ethereum ETF demand faces constraints due to the inability to offer staking rewards, which typically provide annual yields of 3% to 4%. Mitchnick said that it had some impact on demand for these products.

The staking integration involves complex tax and liquidity considerations within the grantor trust structure used by crypto ETPs. Staked Ethereum requires an unbonding period before it becomes freely tradable, which conflicts with ETF liquidity requirements.

As a result, Mitchnick said that Bitcoin attracts broader institutional interest due to clearer positioning as “digital gold,” acting as a portfolio diversifier similar to traditional gold allocations.

Meanwhile, Ethereum requires more nuanced discussions as a technology bet on blockchain adoption, resembling tech equities or venture capital investments.

Tokenization and stablecoin outlook

BlackRock sees limited tokenization opportunities beyond money market funds, where the technology creates clear utility by enabling 24/7 liquidity while maintaining full yield access.

Mitchnick noted:

“A lot of projects in the early years have gone wayward because they merely relied on that high-level value prop.”

Lastly, he said that the firm remains bullish on stablecoins expanding beyond their current use in crypto trading to include cross-border payments and financial market settlement.