Shortly
- John D’Agostino of Coinbase said institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds were responsible for the Bitcoin’s rally in April. Retail investors pulled out from ETFs.
- Bitcoin grew 13% during the month. The currency climbed from $75,500 to close to $96,000 and then settled above $92,000.
- According to the executive, institutional demand is linked to dedollarization, inflation-hedging and a change away from technology-stock correlations.
The Institutional Interest in Bitcoin The increase in volatility was accelerated last month despite the fact that retail investors decreased their exposure.
John D’Agostino is the head of strategy for Coinbase Institutional. CNBC Squawk Box The “pools” of capital which have bought during April include “large institutional and long-term duration pools of funds,” while Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced net outflows.
In April, D’Agostino said, “Bitcoin ETF flows were net negative to the tune of about $470 million." D’Agostino added, “Institutions and sovereigns were piling into the market, while retail via ETFs were leaving.”
It is important to note that the word “you” means “the”. Bitcoin Price Gold’s price rose by around 10% over the last month. Bitcoin, on the other hand, climbed from lows at $76,500 up to highs in excess of $96,000. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin was trading around $92,800 at the time of this publication. This is down by 1.3% in the last 24 hours.
It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. Coinbase Executive said that the price movement reflects Bitcoin trading on “its core characteristics,” such as scarcity, unchangeability and portability. He compared these traits to gold.
When you put in the effort, there is a short list of investments that have the same characteristics as gold. He said that Bitcoin was on the shortlist.
Changes in institutional behavior
D’Agostino cited three factors that are linked to changing institution behavior. First, the de-dollarization of institutions: In response to macroeconomic changes like April’s tariff announcements and other shifts in economic policy, certain governments have begun preparing themselves for a weaker U.S. currency.
You are mistaken if you think that dollar is weakening. [convert Bitcoin to dollars] He said that sovereign funds prefer BTC to be held in the local currency.
D’Agostino also said that Bitcoin “nolonger trades like a stock in the tech sector,” making reference to its previous bundling of high-growth assets such as NVIDIA. Bitcoin became entangled in this leveraged tech trade post-COVID. However, that narrative has now begun to unravel.
D’Agostino also pointed out, third, that Bitcoin was seen by many institutions as an inflation hedge over the long term, particularly those that had missed gold’s rally.
Bitcoin was a top-five commodity in all of his analyses.
Are you in a safe haven yet or are you still unsure?
Bitcoin’s recent divergence from equities, rising while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 3% on Monday, sparked debate about whether it’s becoming a “safe haven” like gold.
D’Agostino urged caution about reading too much into recent price behavior, saying, “This is a relatively short-term data set… Be very, very careful,” noting that correlations can shift quickly and shouldn’t be overanalyzed in isolation.
Even so, he acknowledged Bitcoin’s growing role in institutional strategy, “So, again, nothing's perfect, but as a basket for protecting its market panic and inflation hedge, Bitcoin and gold go side by side.”
Alex Svanevik is the CEO and founder of Nansen. He believes that Bitcoin’s recent rise may have more to do with shifting sentiments than structural changes.
“Bitcoin has been surprisingly resilient throughout the trade war, holding up against altcoins and, more recently, against the S&P 500,” Svanevik told Decrypt, pointing to “ongoing positive news flows”—including reports that the U.S. Treasury is exploring ways to move reserves into Bitcoin.
He cautioned, however, that Bitcoin’s risk profile had not fundamentally altered, and that it would remain vulnerable to recession if odds increased.
Analysts said that even though gold is more resistant, it could still be “net sold” if investors rush to pay margin calls. This was seen in the worst of days during the recent trade war.
