Top Crypto Exchange Now Says, “There is MASSIVE Interest From Our Institutional Clients”
After tumbling roughly 70% from its all-time-highs, Bitcoin may finally be “on sale” and crypto spring may be just around the corner. According to Bitstamp’s Global CEO, Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, “Many institutional companies are looking to make their first move into crypto. There is massive crypto interest from our institutional clients.”
“We see many banks, payment service providers, brokers and insurance companies looking into how they can offer crypto, regardless of the crypto winter,” he said.
He made these comments last week in an interview with Gary McFarlane of Business2Community.
Graftieaux went on, “Generally, on how long the crypto winter will last, it is a bit too early to say when and how. But what I feel personally is that we are in a more positive trend now compared to the last couple of months, even though the climate is still very uncertain.
“In the coming quarters we will probably see more positive indicators.”
What makes Graftieaux’s comments so interesting, and potentially telling, is his position as Global CEO of one of the largest, most well respected, crypto exchanges in the world. Now, because of his position, Graftieaux may have more insight into institutional demand than most.
Could his comments have been driven by the recent news that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced the launch of a spot Bitcoin private trust?
Graftieaux did say that a survey conducted in Q1 by BitStamp showed that “88% of institutional clients and 75% of retail clients believed crypto will be mainstream within a decade.”
And it looks like with its recent announcement, BlackRock could very well be the leader of the pack.
With $10 trillion under management, BlackRock has perhaps one of the largest rosters of institutional and whale clients anywhere on Wall Street, or in the world for that matter.
“If BlackRock were to place 0.5% of its assets under Bitcoin management, BTC’s market capitalization would be affected by an increase of $1.05 trillion. This would add about $75,000 to Bitcoin’s price. BTC, which is in the $23,000 band, will make its way to about $98,000,” said InvestAnswers.
Indeed, a BlackRock asset allocation into BTC could pressure Bitcoin prices to the upside, but the amount of institutional capital they’d inject is completely unknown.
However, asset allocation by a giant like BlackRock may not be the only springtime trigger BTC fence-sitters are awaiting.
According to Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative crypto fund, Capriole Investments, “Historically, these have been great times to allocate into Bitcoin, with incredible returns.”
What does Edwards mean by “historically’?…
Well, Edwards made his statement not on the BlackRock news or new institutional interest in Bitcoin, but on technical indicators that show an uptick in the BTC mining hash rate.
Edwards, who formulated the “Hash Ribbons” indicator back in 2019, said to CNBC, “I created Hash Ribbons in 2019 as a way to identify when major Bitcoin mining capitulation had occurred, as once recovery resumes from these events, they typically mark major Bitcoin price bottoms…
“Historically, these have been great times to allocate into Bitcoin, with incredible returns.”
Edwards’ Hash Ribbons data has identified that mining capitulation has already occurred… just over a week ago.
Could the Global CEO of BitStamp’s comments on increased institutional interest, the entry of BlackRock into the BTC space, and the recent Hash Ribbons data now indicate Bitcoin is about to emerge from crypto winter?
Only time will tell…
You can read more thoughts from Graftieaux and Edwards in a Forbes article, HERE