The post Is Bitcoin Being Taken Over by the Very System It Was Built Against? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Bitcoin Skepticism remains deeply embedded in Bitcoin culture, and according to Ego Death Capital co-founder Preston Pysh, that isn’t changing anytime soon — especially as Wall Street tightens its grip on the market. Speaking with Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast, Pysh said many of the earliest Bitcoin holders feel the asset is drifting away from its grassroots ethos as institutional products like derivatives gain traction. A Culture Built on Self-Custody “Part of the culture that got Bitcoin here is looking around and saying: this is all moving in the wrong direction,” Pysh said. He pointed out that Bitcoin’s trillion-dollar market cap was built largely by individuals who refused to sell, even through brutal 70–80% drawdowns. “We like to joke that we’re Bitcoin psychopaths,” he added, describing the extreme conviction among long-time holders who clung to self-custody as the foundation of Bitcoin’s philosophy. But as new capital flows in through ETFs, structured products, and derivatives, some in the community are asking: is this just another scam dressed up as progress? The Institutional Dilemma The tension has surfaced repeatedly in recent debates. Analyst Scott Melker, known as “The Wolf of All Streets,” recently argued that Bitcoin, while revolutionary, is now being co-opted by the very system it was meant to hedge against. Ryan McMillin, CIO of Merkle Tree Capital, sees the shift differently. He told Cointelegraph that old coins moving into institutional hands show Bitcoin is being fully absorbed into the global financial system — a development he views as inevitable. Pysh, however, believes the gap between how institutions and individuals use Bitcoin will continue to widen. “Institutions are going to use it very differently,” he said. “That’s going to be a hard pill for people to swallow.” Skepticism as a Feature, Not a Bug Despite the discomfort, Pysh doesn’t… The post Is Bitcoin Being Taken Over by the Very System It Was Built Against? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Bitcoin Skepticism remains deeply embedded in Bitcoin culture, and according to Ego Death Capital co-founder Preston Pysh, that isn’t changing anytime soon — especially as Wall Street tightens its grip on the market. Speaking with Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast, Pysh said many of the earliest Bitcoin holders feel the asset is drifting away from its grassroots ethos as institutional products like derivatives gain traction. A Culture Built on Self-Custody “Part of the culture that got Bitcoin here is looking around and saying: this is all moving in the wrong direction,” Pysh said. He pointed out that Bitcoin’s trillion-dollar market cap was built largely by individuals who refused to sell, even through brutal 70–80% drawdowns. “We like to joke that we’re Bitcoin psychopaths,” he added, describing the extreme conviction among long-time holders who clung to self-custody as the foundation of Bitcoin’s philosophy. But as new capital flows in through ETFs, structured products, and derivatives, some in the community are asking: is this just another scam dressed up as progress? The Institutional Dilemma The tension has surfaced repeatedly in recent debates. Analyst Scott Melker, known as “The Wolf of All Streets,” recently argued that Bitcoin, while revolutionary, is now being co-opted by the very system it was meant to hedge against. Ryan McMillin, CIO of Merkle Tree Capital, sees the shift differently. He told Cointelegraph that old coins moving into institutional hands show Bitcoin is being fully absorbed into the global financial system — a development he views as inevitable. Pysh, however, believes the gap between how institutions and individuals use Bitcoin will continue to widen. “Institutions are going to use it very differently,” he said. “That’s going to be a hard pill for people to swallow.” Skepticism as a Feature, Not a Bug Despite the discomfort, Pysh doesn’t…