Tether’s strategic advisor, Gabor Gurbacs, has publicly criticized institutional investors who entered the crypto market nearly a decade ago for continuing to miss the core value of Bitcoin. In a statement shared on X, Gurbacs claimed that investors from the 2016–2017 cycle are still focused more on blockchain technology than on Bitcoin itself.
According to Gurbacs, institutions initially decided to support blockchain infrastructure instead of treating Bitcoin as a financial asset. Their preference is also not significantly different after eight years. He mentioned the fact that this group still fails to understand the initial intention of Bitcoin, as well as the restrictions that were put in place with the generic applications of blockchain.
His comments have sparked discussion within the crypto community, as many believe institutions have made significant progress in embracing Bitcoin through ETF products and treasury strategies. Gurbacs, however, suggested that this shift is more surface-level and lacks true understanding of Bitcoin’s role as a decentralized store of value.
Institutional Missteps and Bitcoin’s Missed Opportunity
The fact that financial institutions continue to favor blockchain over BTC is a misstep, as Gurbacs stated in his remarks, disregarding the disruptive capability of BTC in economic terms. According to him, he considers that rather than viewing Bitcoin as an instrument of financial sovereignty as well as monetary autonomy, they have been treated by institutions like a minor product.
This misconception, in his opinion, dilutes the effect of the institutional involvement in the crypto space. Blockchain, though, might have technological advantages, but it is Bitcoin that puts centralized systems of financial transactions to the test. His statements highlight a bigger issue: most massive investors still view Bitcoin as an optional add-on and not the hub of digital finance.
He further said that although the institutional activity is boosted by ETF investments and adoption of the treasury, the philosophical core and the functioning core of Bitcoin are still underrecognised. This, he asserts, is evidence that the financial sector is still in the beginning state of fully understanding the long-term implications of Bitcoin.
Gabor Gurbacs Compares Banks and Bitcoin-Backed Models
In a related post, Gurbacs also criticized the structure of traditional banking institutions, calling attention to what he sees as significant risks in the system. He explained that the majority of banks possess less than 15 per cent of Tier I liquid capital to customer deposits and depend heavily on trust in central depositories.
Gurbacs noted that custodians who manage billions of dollars of clients have a limited number of million dollars worth of insurance coverage worth a million dollars. He argued that this forms a weak system that does not have openness and adequate coverage. He termed it a house of cards, cautioning against flaws within the legacy financial infrastructure that never come to the fore.
Tether, to which Gurbacs is an advisor, on the contrary, is said to be storing more than $118 billion in reserves. Out of it, $5.3 billion is made up of excess reserves, which, according to the company, allows it to give its stablecoin and other financial activities better support.
Nonetheless, the number of companies that use Bitcoin constantly increases. Recently, Canadian-based Bitcoin Treasury Corporation (BTCT), after raising 125 million Canadian dollars via a brokered share offering, purchased 292.8 BTC. In an attempt to underpin institutional lending activities, BTCT would utilize Bitcoin reserves and would launch trade at the TSX Venture Exchange.
ProCap BTC, another company headed by Anthony Pompliano, has revealed that it has bought 1,208 Bitcoins and now its portfolio counts 4,932 BTC. These trends indicate that corporate trust in the value of Bitcoin is gradually gaining ground in the long run, although certain institutional attitudes have been left behind.
Conclusion
The statements made by Gabor Gurbacs indicate the rising conflict between the traditional early institutional views and the vision of Bitcoin. With the increased pace of corporate Bitcoin acquisitions, the gap between invested-in blockchain and actual Bitcoin adoption still raises many eyebrows among those in the sector.
