Bitwise CIO: Institutional investors are holding BTC, not selling, in downturn

Institutional investors are choosing to hold Bitcoin during market downturns rather than sell, according to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer (CIO) at Bitwise. In remarks reported by CoinDesk, Hougan noted that spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $60 billion in net inflows from their launch until October of last year. He explained that despite a subsequent price drop of about 50%, ETF outflows were less than $10 billion. Hougan said this shows that institutional investors have demonstrated so-called "diamond hands" even in a harsh bear market. He added that while Bitcoin's profile has grown in recent years, it remains a non-mainstream asset. According to Hougan, institutions buying Bitcoin now are taking a risk by deviating from the industry consensus. He concluded that these investors generally have very strong conviction and are likely to hold their positions for a relatively long time, even amid high volatility.