The cryptocurrency industry has seen many ups and downs. Its volatile nature caused many discussions in different periods of time. In early 2022, when the market collapsed with some well-known crypto companies crashing, retail traders started to massively withdraw, being scared of even deeper price drops. On the other hand, this crypto crash forces regulations to pay attention to this field and impose some more scrutinized rules. This, in turn, created a more suitable environment for institutional-grade digital asset investors, who broke into the crypto sector and continue tapping in today.
In this article, we will discuss the participants of institutional trading of crypto, some statistics on investments, and prospects.
Who are Institutional Investors in Cryptocurrency?
Traditional finance companies that implement blockchain, launch crypto custody, tokenized deposits, CBDC projects, digital bonds, tokenization of private funds and ownerships, payment processing with the use of blockchain for money movement, etc.
Financial companies and large investors can make partnerships with crypto exchanges to act as liquidity providers on a market-making platform. This implies injecting large trading volumes in a trading pair, ensuring an attractive trading environment and readiness to buy or sell assets as soon as a relevant order is made.
Current Situation with Digital Asset Investment
Despite the recent market movements, institutions are staying in the course and not withdrawing from the crypto market. Institutions’ approach is careful and educated, they evaluate risks and use advanced tools to manage them promptly.
Generally, institutions are optimistic about allocating their investments in digital assets for the long term. However, these factors are holding some of them back:
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Still unclear regulatory framework.
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Challenges in finding a trusted and reliable institutional crypto trading platform to cooperate with.
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Higher requirements for security and custody.
Statistics say, that 35% of institutions allocate 1%-5% of their portfolios to crypto assets or projects, while 60% indicate they allocate more than 1% to crypto assets or related products. Talking about smaller companies (smaller assets under management), 45% of companies with $500 billion AUM (assets under management) allocate more than 1% of their capital to crypto.
Instead of Conclusion: The Future of Institutional Crypto Investments
The institutional outlook on crypto has a long-term nature. On the one hand, they are optimistic about the development of this sector and assets growth, on the other hand, they wait for a more clear regulation for this field. Most companies plan to scale their crypto investments in 2024 and 2025, meaning their optimistic approach towards crypto.