The framing "integrating Bitcoin" vs "connecting to Bitcoin" is underrated.

One way to feel the difference: traditional settlement rails were valuable *because* they were scarce and controlled. Bitcoin's rails are valuable *because* they're open and uncontrolled. Institutions optimizing for the first dynamic will struggle to add value in the second.

The strategic question you name — what role does our institution play — is the right one. The honest answer for most: compliance interface, custody, and regulated access. That's real. But it's a service business on top of a protocol they don't own. Very different from owning the rails.