The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) bear market may have shaken retail sentiment, but some of the world’s largest investors appear to have treated the downturn very differently.
According to Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, a survey of 15 large institutional investors found that not one reduced its crypto exposure during the bear market, while several increased their positions.
The group included endowments, corporations, sovereign investors and pension funds.
Why Institutions Bought Into the BTC Bear Market
Horsley said the consistency of the responses stood out, with institutions choosing to maintain or potentially increase their crypto allocations despite falling prices.
"If people are wondering whether institutions, investment professionals, CFAs, billionaires, brilliant people want to own the asset class, they do," Horsley said in an interview with Scott Melker on Sunday.
Every institution owned Bitcoin, while some also had exposure to other crypto assets.
He added that much of this institutional adoption remains invisible to retail investors because large investors typically don’t publicly announce their positions.
Bitwise itself saw roughly $1.8 billion in inflows during the first half of 2026 despite the bear market, Horsley said, with preliminary Q3 inflows estimated at around $1 billion.
ETFs: The Preferred Route
Horsley foresees Bitcoin investment access is now roughly "two-thirds of the way there," although availability has yet to translate into widespread adoption.
Another emerging trend is investors swapping directly held crypto into ETF shares to simplify custody and portfolio management.
Horsley said Bitwise saw roughly $60 million to $70 million of such swaps during Q3.
However, rising prices remain one of Bitcoin’s most powerful catalysts for attracting mainstream investors.
Some investors viewed falling prices as a buying opportunity, but others delayed allocations because they saw little urgency while Bitcoin continued getting cheaper.
That could change as Bitcoin demonstrates once again that it is "not dead" and "not going to zero" after more than 16 years, Horsley said.
The ideal setup, according to Horsley, is steady positive price performance that creates urgency without making Bitcoin look overheated, a backdrop he believes crypto has now entered.
Image: Shutterstock
Login to comment