Adam Back: DeFi exploits are handing Bitcoin the institutional security argument it needed!

Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Consensus Miami 2026 that a string of DeFi smart-contract failures this year is accelerating institutional preference for Bitcoin's simpler, security-first architecture. "Bitcoin infrastructure is much more simple, robust, security first," he said, arguing that institutions are no longer trying to reshape Bitcoin into traditional finance rails — they are adapting to its conservative incentive model instead.

Back outlined Bitcoin adoption as a three-wave progression: retail direct ownership, spot ETF access through brokerages, and now institutional portfolio allocation through pension funds, sovereign entities and model portfolios. "The model portfolios that BlackRock and others are putting out… those allocations haven't taken effect yet," he noted, flagging the next leg of inflows as still ahead.

On infrastructure, Back pointed to Blockstream's Liquid…