Overview
- Speaking at Consensus Miami 2026, Blockstream CEO Adam Back said a run of DeFi hacks has pushed institutions to seek Bitcoin for sturdier financial rails.
- He argued that Bitcoin’s simpler setup, with limited scripting and a UTXO ledger, leaves fewer ways for attackers to break systems than smart-contract-heavy chains.
- Back pointed to Blockstream’s Liquid Network for tokenization and quicker settlement, calling hardware-wallet-to-hardware-wallet trades a safer way to move assets.
- He described a third adoption wave led by managed portfolios, pension funds and sovereigns, and he said BlackRock model portfolio allocations have not yet been implemented.
- Back estimated about 200 bitcoin treasury companies now operate worldwide and said BSTR, which he leads, uses active strategies instead of only buying and holding.