Eric Trump said bitcoin is currently going through the most important phase in its history.

CoinDesk reported on April 29 that Trump took the stage at Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas and said bitcoin’s market structure is changing as institutional adoption, corporate treasury strategies and expanded access in mainstream finance converge.

Trump, a co-founder and chief strategy officer at bitcoin miner American Bitcoin (ABTC), stressed that bitcoin’s peak is not ahead but has already begun. He said the change bitcoin has shown over the past 6 months is close to a structural shift even compared with the previous 3 years. "This is the greatest time I've experienced," he said.

He cited Wall Street’s change in attitude as a key basis. Trump mentioned that major banks have begun offering bitcoin-backed loans and custody services and argued that traditional finance no longer views bitcoin as a peripheral asset. As bitcoin financial services move into the established system, he said, the approaches of individuals and institutions are changing together.

He also stressed a change in the supply-demand structure. "People are no longer selling bitcoin and are holding it," he said. "Bitcoin is becoming an asset that is increasingly difficult to bring to market." With limited supply and rising demand at the level of institutions and sovereign states, he said, the market’s supply and demand is under structural pressure.

Eric Balchunas, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) analyst at Bloomberg who joined the on-site discussion, explained the change through the ETF market. Balchunas said spot bitcoin ETFs have become one of the most successful launches in the history of that product category and expanded accessibility from institutions to retail investors. He said ETFs show that lowering barriers to entry in the bitcoin market has diversified channels for fund inflows.

Trump also laid out a stance of focusing on long-term trends rather than short-term volatility. "I plan to endure volatility," he said. "Over 10 years, we'll see who wins." He said strengthened holding behaviour, integration into finance and expanded investment vehicles are more important changes than price swings themselves.

The remarks focus less on a bullish outlook for bitcoin itself than on how far integration into the established system has progressed. His comments highlighted a broadening demand base around bitcoin as he simultaneously cited expanded services by major banks, incorporation into corporate treasury strategies and improved public access through ETFs. He said a point to watch will be whether this trend leads to actual increases in holdings and longer-term fund inflows, and what changes it creates as it intersects with the limited supply structure he cited.