Institutions Pile Into Bitcoin Amid Growing Debts and Inflation Worries

Investors are increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a hard asset alongside gold, according to Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise. In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Rasmussen shared findings from Bitwise's institutional crypto adoption research.

Rasmussen said that sovereign wealth funds are showing interest in Bitcoin across multiple regions. A notable example is a fund selling gold and other FX reserves to buy BTC, citing a relatively small allocation of two to three percent could translate into significant buying power due to the enormous capital these funds control.

Some institutions are exploring spot BTC ETFs, while others are considering direct custody, mining, and options strategies designed to generate income from their holdings. During Bitcoin's bear market, institutions remained resilient, with none selling crypto as the price dropped from around $125,000 to $60,000 in June 2026.

Rasmussen believes that Bitcoin's latest bear market bottomed near $60,000, and expects prices to move higher as the broader 'debasement trade' is 'just getting started.' The introduction of systematic, long-term demand through ETFs and digital-asset treasury companies has fundamentally changed market dynamics.