BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, believes the institutional adoption of crypto exchange-traded funds is still in its early stages.

During a Sept. 25 interview with the Crypto Prime podcast, Mitchnick stated that institutional penetration lags significantly behind retail adoption, despite the success of products such as BlackRock’s Bitcoin (IBIT) and Ethereum (ETHA) ETFs.

He added:

“The vast majority of advisors in the US today still do not have the ability to make decisions on this on behalf of their clients.”

Mitchnick said that most wealth management firms approved crypto ETFs for execution-only transactions, requiring clients to initiate purchases themselves rather than advisors making portfolio allocation decisions.

Only a few leading-edge firms have crossed this threshold, with BlackRock’s model portfolio teams adding IBIT allocations for the first time in early 2025.

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.

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Author: Gino Matos