Bitcoin Magazine
Adam Back: Pension Funds Are Bitcoin’s “Third Wave” of Adoption
Individual users marked the initial wave of Bitcoin adoption, followed by exchange-traded funds as the second wave. Blockstream Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Adam Back outlines the reasons why the upcoming third wave—consisting of pension funds, managed funds, and model portfolios—has yet to fully arrive, alongside insights into how Swiss financial institutions are preparing for it.
Video Chapters:
00:00 Why Blockstream Opened an Office in Lugano
01:20 Why Blockstream Started Offering Consulting
02:01 Swiss Banks Want Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Custody
03:04 Tokenized Money Market Funds vs. Stablecoins
04:13 Tokenized Shares on Liquid and Blockstream AMP
05:55 Where Institutions Still Get Stuck
07:00 Build In-House or Use a Custodian?
08:01 How Regulation Shapes Bitcoin Custody
10:01 Basel Rules and the Cost of Holding Bitcoin
10:40 The Three Waves of Bitcoin Adoption
Frequently Asked Questions
According to Adam Back, the first wave of adoption came from individual users, while the second wave was driven by ETFs.
The third wave consists of model portfolios, managed funds, and pension funds.
Adam Back is the CEO and co-founder of Blockstream.
Swiss banks are getting ready for institutional adoption and looking into quantum-safe Bitcoin custody.
