Major institutional investors maintained their holdings and in many cases increased them during a recent market downturn, according to findings from Bitwise's first institutional crypto adoption report. Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise, discussed the report during an interview, noting that none of the 15 major institutions interviewed by the firm sold their Bitcoin positions when prices moved from $125,000 to $60,000.
The report covers adoption trends across pensions, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. According to Rasmussen, institutions are increasingly treating Bitcoin alongside gold as a hedge against currency debasement. Observations from the research include specific institutional allocation models, such as Wells Fargo's 2% to 3% Bitcoin allocation, as well as allocations ranging from 2% to 8% associated with firms like Fidelity and BlackRock.
The discussion also addressed market structure impacts, with Rasmussen pointing to exchange-traded funds as a factor that helped make the recent bear market shallower. The report highlights weekly ETF inflows reaching $2.5 billion, representing a new wave of capital entering the space. Additionally, Rasmussen noted that sovereign wealth funds have begun selling gold to acquire Bitcoin, and highlighted that Bitcoin continues to show a lack of correlation to bonds, gold, and traditional stocks.
