How Much Institutional Money Is Really in Bitcoin?
Grand claims have always existed, but do they stand up under scrutiny?
I’ve been in the crypto space for some years now and I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has claimed ‘institutional money is moving in.’
In fact, I remember distinctly discussions between TV pundits during the short-lived price boom of late 2017/early 2018 that it was ‘imminent’, helping to fuel the frenzy of retail investors.
But it never came. There were just too many problems with storage, security, regulations and the whole understanding of the asset class itself. Not only that, but some of the institutions themselves could actually stand to lose if Bitcoin gained traction and could not be seen to support it in any way.
Yet the stories kept coming, even as the price fell. When the crypto winter started to bite, rumors and stories still trickled through of the next big move.
I remember articles even quoting actual figures as high as $200-$600 million dollars a week being poured into the nascent market place, apparently eager to capitalize on the possible high returns to come. The trouble is, market volume and price movements seemed to contradict these claims. Where on earth were these numbers coming from?
