Bitcoin is considered by asset management companies to be the most promising cryptocurrency in terms of growth, although Ethereum still holds the largest share in their investment portfolio.
According to a recent survey by CoinShares, Bitcoin is considered the most promising cryptocurrency by asset management companies, although Ethereum remains the largest holding in their portfolios.
In fact, 43% of respondents believe that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by global market capitalization, has the greatest potential for growth. The report states, "This is mainly at the expense of Ethereum, which was leading in the previous survey conducted in April."
CoinShares' quarterly survey received responses from investors who manage $750 billion in assets. It is worth noting that the survey may not accurately reflect the views of Americans, as 70% of respondents are from Europe and the Middle East, 25% are from North America, and around 5% are from Asia.
It is understood that the most popular reason for investing in digital assets (37% of respondents) is still the growth potential of distributed ledger technology, followed by diversification, speculation, good value, and customer demand.
In the eyes of respondents, there is still a key risk: the possibility of regulation and government bans. The emerging cryptocurrency sector has been hit by regulatory crackdowns, raising concerns about its growth prospects. However, some believe that regulatory clarity is a positive sign for cryptocurrencies, as it will eliminate so-called bad actors from the industry.
However, as of the end of June, the weight of digital assets in asset management company portfolios has dropped from 1.8% in April to 0.7%. Most importantly, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission increasing scrutiny of the emerging industry, over $400 million has flowed out in the first half of 2023.
However, this sentiment has started to change. In the three weeks leading up to July 14th, approximately $470 million flowed back into the market. Prior to this, BlackRock submitted an application for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) directly investing in Bitcoin, sparking a race among asset management companies to become the first to launch a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF. The competition for ETFs pushed the price of Bitcoin from around $25,000 in mid-June to $314,000. As of Friday afternoon, the token price was $298,000, up 79% year-to-date.
In another report, CoinShares stated that the ruling by a U.S. judge that cryptocurrency company Ripple's sale of XRP tokens on public exchanges can be considered a commodity in certain cases was welcomed by investors, leading to inflows into digital asset investment products for the fourth consecutive week as of July 14th.
CoinShares also noted that besides regulation, custody and accessibility are considered reasons why institutional investors are reluctant to allocate funds to digital assets, indicating that some investors are uncomfortable with existing investment methods.
SA analyst Florian Grummes, using a technical analysis-based approach, believes that Bitcoin is most likely to rise, as people have recently become excited about the potential for a spot Bitcoin ETF. However, he cautioned that given the "macroeconomic outlook and typical summer slowdown," skepticism should still be maintained.