Exchange inflow/outflow
The first key point we can consider to gather more information about bull/bear in bitcoin is the inflow and outflow of BTC on major exchanges.
“About $2.5 billion in bitcoin moved off crypto exchanges Wednesday morning, a signal that institutional investors are getting off the sidelines after a bearish few weeks for the cryptocurrency.
The balance of bitcoin on exchanges fell as 63,289 BTC were transferred off the platforms, according to blockchain data provider Glassnode, which tracks the flows of exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken and Binance.”
Short squeeze
BTCUSD TradingviewIn the weekly chart, Bitcoin records a 21.1% profit due to a short squeeze that left traders with short positions in shambles. On the derivatives sector across all platforms, analyst Willy Woo recorded $1 billion in liquidations on July 26th.Most of the liquidations took place on exchange Bybit with $413 million liquidated, followed by Huobi with $213 million, OKex with $207, Binance with $111 million.Source: Willy WooThe general sentiment in the market flipped bullish after the short squeeze which Arcane Research classified as “one for the history books”. When the price of Bitcoin jumped from $34,000 to $39,500 was bigger than the one seen in December 2017 when BTC reached $20,000.
Many experts and traders have flipped bullish. The Fear & Greed Index has gone up from Extreme Fear and now sits around the Fear area. Despite the recent bullish price action, others wonder if there are enough elements that will sustain it.Source: Arcane ResearchAdditional data provided by Arcane Research indicates that institutional interest, one of Bitcoin’s main catalyzers, remains high.
Surveys
According to two surveys, one conducted by Goldman Sachs and the other by Fidelity, there is an “overall positive sentiment towards crypto” among these institutions.Bitcoin Still King In The Eyes Of InstitutionsOver 150 family offices from around the world took part in Goldman Sachs’ survey. 16% of the respondents said that they are already invested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, with 24% of these entities based on the U.S. indicating that they hold a portion of their assets in cryptocurrencies, Arcane Research said.Similarly, 45% of family offices on a global scale said that they aren’t invested in cryptocurrencies, but they expressed interest in the future. Family offices in Asia showed the biggest interest with 68% claiming that they have plans to invest in Bitcoin and the “digital asset ecosystem”, as seen below.Most of the entities from the survey want to invest in cryptocurrencies due to their fear of inflation and low-interest rates. These are the primary metrics under their radar and will be of major importance to make the crypto-investment decision.In addition, 39% of the participants said that they have not to interest in cryptocurrencies due to regulatory concerns and because they doubt Bitcoin can be an efficient store of value. Others revealed a lack of expertise and familiarity with this asset class.Source: Arcane ResearchOn the other hand, Fidelity found that there is a “far wider institutional adoption of digital assets today”. In 2019, 22% of the participants for the same survey indicated that they held cryptocurrencies, 36% said the same in 2020, and 52% in 2021. 71% said to have plans to invest in cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the future.Arcane Research concluded that the results suggest an increase in the institutional presence in the crypto industry. These major players have driven Bitcoin from $10,000 to an all-time high at $64,000 and will be key on further appreciation.Source: Arcane Research
Institutional Outlooks
· The adoption of cryptocurrencies increased massively this year with Bitcoin leading the pack and breaking into new markets.
· Trey Reik, CEO of Bristol Gold Group has backed Bitcoin for massive institutional investments in the future.
· MicroStrategy’s recent purchase of Bitcoin, coupled with the big banks diving into Bitcoin, all points to institutional investors going big on Bitcoin.
· Amid a downturn in market prices, more funds pouring in from institutional investors can save Bitcoin and take it to another price rally.
Trey Reik Backs Digital Gold to Take Institutional Money
In the early days of Bitcoin, the asset was heavily criticized by institutional investors and gold enthusiasts for being too volatile and not being a good investment.
Trey Reik, the CEO of Bristol Gold Group, has speculated that more money is expected to be pumped into Bitcoin in the coming years.
He further revealed that he is ‘jealous’ of Bitcoin because he didn’t get it sooner. It isn’t every day we get to see a gold expert shower praises on Bitcoin as the two assets have been rivals in the public sphere for a long time.
The gold expert believes that institutional investors will go bullish on the crypto asset like never before. While showering praises and projecting the future massive Bitcoin adoption, he said that
"Bitcoin is the greatest producer of wealth in the short possible time."
On the Flipside
· The mass adoption of Bitcoin by worldwide institutional investors may come over the next 5 years.
· As determined as investors are, the current market downturn will affect the level of cash inflow.
MicroStrategy and Big Banks are Going All-In
MicroStrategy and other corporations are investing heavily in Bitcoin amid a shaky market. The company bought another 13,005 coins this month bringing their total number over 100,000 Bitcoins worth about $3 billion.
Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), is a strong believer in Bitcoin and is delighted that his company spent about $486 million on Bitcoin.
Big banks such as JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) have revealed that they are expanding cryptocurrency investment options for their clients. Most banks began investing in Bitcoin this year, bringing a new institutional push into bitcoin.
What’s Next for Bitcoin Prices?
Though the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have dropped in recent weeks, a massive institutional investment in Bitcoin may see the price soaring high again.
Bitcoin may not get up to the $100k-$300k mark which bullish investors were projecting for the asset to end the year, however, with more money, it could have a decent price rally towards.
Bullish investors like Michael Saylor may have saved Bitcoin from a price correction down to $17k. It’s now time for the coin to get back to its first-quarter levels.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.