BlackRock And Big Players Could Take Over Bitcoin Mining

It has been just revealed that a terrible warning is floating above the crypto space. Bitcoin mining could be taken over by BlackRock and the big players. Check out the latest reports about this really worrisome claim.

According to Bloomberg’s crypto market analyst, Jamie Coutts, Bitcoin (BTC) might be vulnerable to being taken over by the powerhouses of the traditional financial system.

Coutts shared data on social media platform X, revealing that BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, began gaining proxy exposure to Bitcoin in 2020 by purchasing shares of mining company Marathon Digital.

He suggests that BlackRock’s move may have been a precursor to its recent application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Coutts notes that BlackRock and other large investors like Vanguard and StateStreet, who prioritize environmental, social and governance (ESG)-driven investing principles, started purchasing public mining stock in 2020.

BlackRock began investing in Marathon Digital three years ago when hostility towards mining was high, possibly due to the industry’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels at the time.

According to an analyst, the world’s largest asset managers have become the leading investors in the three biggest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, holding about 8.9% of all hash power.

This institutionalization of Bitcoin may present new challenges, as the larger players may not share the same goals and interests as the smaller entities.

While a “51% attack,” where one or multiple actors control most of the hash rate, is unlikely, there may be a risk of creeping influence that goes against the values of the network. However, this should not be interpreted as FUD as the online publication the Daily Hodl notes.

“This conflict could involve misaligned ESG objectives or potential censorship of transactions. Neither would prevent the chain from operating; other miners could process censored transactions (while collecting the fees).

But, given the activist tendencies of these big asset managers, it remains unclear if their intentions toward Bitcoin miners will be passive in nature.”