Bitwise: A large-scale transfer of BTC from retail to institutional investors is currently underway

Jinse Finance reported that André Dragosch, Head of Research Europe at Bitwise, stated on the 28th that bitcoin is currently being distributed from early retail investors to institutional investors such as funds/ETPs, corporations, and governments. Unlike other traditional asset classes in history, the adoption of bitcoin was initially driven by retail investors such as cypherpunks and early adopters, with family offices, fund managers, and ETF institutional investors only making their first investments in bitcoin later on. Even today, individual investors still hold about 66% of BTC. This means the vast majority of bitcoin is still controlled by non-institutional investors, and “we are still in the early stages” in terms of institutional adoption. Nevertheless, a large-scale transfer of BTC from retail to institutional investors is currently underway. At present, institutional investors (ETPs and treasury companies) hold about 12.5% of the BTC supply, and this figure is growing rapidly. This transfer is not something that can be achieved overnight; it is a long-term trend. Ultimately, this “great transfer” means that the price of BTC will need to be higher to incentivize BTC to move from early retail investors to institutional investors.