Catenaa, Monday, October 13, 2025- Institutional investors have overtaken retail traders as the dominant force in the global cryptocurrency market, according to executives from Bitwise Asset Management and Aspen Digital.
Speaking at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, they said the shift marks a fundamental change in how Bitcoin and digital assets are traded and held.
Bitwise co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Hong Kim said Bitcoin’s investor base now consists mainly of long-term allocators.
“The first year of Bitcoin ETFs saw about $30 billion of inflows; this year we’ve already added another $20 billion,” he said.
Data from SoSoValue shows U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold more than $169 billion, or roughly 6.8% of the cryptocurrency’s total market value.
Kim described ETFs as Bitcoin’s “IPO moment,” crediting them with attracting public companies and institutional investors.
Aspen Digital CEO Elliot Andrews said family offices and high-net-worth individuals are treating crypto as a strategic allocation rather than a speculative gamble, focusing on “consistent, risk-adjusted returns.”
Both executives said the infrastructure supporting institutional investment, including regulated custody and compliance standards, has matured significantly.
Analysts noted that steady inflows from wealth managers have helped reduce volatility and pushed Bitcoin to a new all-time high this month, climbing over 8% amid a partial US government shutdown.
As political gridlock continues in Washington, both retail and institutional investors increasingly view Bitcoin as a hedge against dollar weakness and long-term inflation.
