I mean first of all, nobody is FORCED to trust the institutions that offer these ETFs haha. People willingly choose to buy the ETFs. Some people prefer to simply have bitcoin be an investment rather than use it in the future as a currency one day, and they prefer to invest in it through a financial product offered by their financial institutions rather than figure out how to own it themselves.

Bitcoin is a currency. Bitcoin ETFs are financial products that make it easy for people to invest in, and not own, Bitcoin. Two very different things, both very desired by  millions of people.

Bitcoin ETFs don't stop you from using bitcoin. They don't stop you from not relying on third parties. lol. It's just a different way to invest (rather than use) Bitcoin. We are not "just back on track with the same things". Bitcoin still exists! ETFs didn't make Bitcoin not exist all of a sudden haha. It's just a different way to use on of Bitcoin's features (specifically its feature that it is a supply capped asset and so appreciates over time).

I feel like some bitcoiners need to step out of the bubble and realize the world is a big place and not everyone is going to directly use Bitcoin as a currency exactly the way you want them to. Not everyone is going to store bitcoin in cold wallets. Not everyone is gonna run their own node. Bitcoin was designed for those things, yes, and that ability is always open to anyone who wants to take full advantage of Bitcoin's features. But in no way does that mean everyone has to take advantage of every feature of Bitcoin. And in no way does that fact do anything to make Bitcoin less than what it is.

Having a concept of the ideological goal of Bitcoin is a good thing. But acting as though reality not conforming to perfect ideology means Bitcoin is somehow corrupted or failing or being manipulated is very naive.