Bitcoin Dominance: Institutions Still Betting Big on BTC

According to Bitwise's recent institutional adoption report, Bitcoin stands alone as the only 'universal' bet among major institutions. The study found that every institution holding cryptocurrency holds Bitcoin, while Ethereum and Solana must still prove their value.

The report highlights that nearly all interviewed institutions hold Bitcoin as their first, largest, and longest-held digital asset, often framing it as an emerging store of value or a hedge against currency debasement. Some even pair it directly with gold, with one institution bluntly stating: 'We could be having this conversation in 10 years and we're telling you we gave up on gold and it's all bitcoin now.'

Ethereum and Solana receive a very different treatment from institutions, who view them as venture-stage technology bets with explicit performance requirements and shorter time horizons. One institution that has held crypto for a decade said: 'Something has to work. At some point, if this stuff doesn’t work, we'll be out.'

Notably, none of the 15 institutions interviewed cut their allocation during the roughly 50% crypto price crash between October 2025 and April 2026. Their exit triggers are entirely thesis-based, such as Ethereum or Solana failing to show real value accrual.