Markus Thielen

US institutions account for 85% of Bitcoin buying in ‘very positive sign’ — Matrixport

Matrixport’s head of research and strategy suggests the industry will soon see layer 1 and other altcoins outperforming relative to Bitcoin.

Institutional investors are “not giving up on crypto,” with recent data pointing to as much as 85% of Bitcoin buying being the result of American institutional players, according to Matrixport’s chief strategist. 

Markus Thielen, the head of research and strategy at the financial services firm, told Cointelegraph the evidence shows that institutions are not “giving up on crypto” and is an indicator that we might be entering a new “crypto bull market now.”

The data was shared in a Jan. 27 report from Matrixport, which suggests that it can be distinguished whether a digital asset is more favorable by retail or institutional investors at any given time based on whether that asset is performing well in the United States or Asian trading hours.

The report stated that if an asset that trades 24 hours “performs well” during U.S. trading hours, it indicates that U.S. institutions are buying it, while an asset that sees growth during Asian trading hours indicates that Asian retail investors are buying it.

The report cited that Bitcoin (BTC) is up 40% this year, with 35% of those returns occurring during U.S. trading hours, meaning there is an “85% contribution” associated with U.S.-based investors, indicating that U.S. institutions are buyers of Bitcoin right now.

Thielen added that previous data shows that institutions typically first start buying Bitcoin before investing in other cryptocurrencies. He noted:

“If history is any guide, then we should see the outperformance of layer 1 and altcoins relative to Bitcoin.”

While the report highlighted that news regarding other projects positively impacted token prices such as Lido DAO (LDO) and Aptos (APT), the crypto rally only started once the U.S. inflation data was released on Jan. 12.

It was also mentioned that Ether (ETH) appears to be performing well during U.S. hours, indicating “institutional flows” into the cryptocurrency, however, APT is doing well around the clock.

“Aptos is seeing a mix of strong returns during U.S. trading hours AND during Asia trading hours.”

The report concluded that this “should be a very positive sign for Bitcoin” as institutional adoption continues.

Related: Data shows pro Bitcoin traders want to feel bullish, but the rally to $23K wasn’t enough

In earlier comments to Cointelegraph, economist Lyn Alden believes that Bitcoin is currently playing “a bit of catch-up,” getting back to where it would have beenwithout the FTX collapse occurring.

Alden warned that there is “considerable danger ahead” for the second half of 2023, citing liquidity conditions being “good right now” partly because of the U.S. as a significant factor.

Alden explained that as the U.S. Treasury is drawing down its cash balance to keep the country’s debt levels low, it pushes “liquidity into the financial system.”

Meanwhile, popular trader and market commentator TechDev posted a Twitter update on Jan. 26 showing the price correlation between Bitcoin and gold, stating that if Bitcoin continues to follow the price of gold, it might even “crack the $50,000 mark.”

You can now search ETH addresses on Google — But what about Bitcoin?

While Google’s feature appears to be good for crypto adoption, a chief investment officer says a move from Apple would make the “crypto industry go from 100 miles an hour to 250 miles in a heartbeat.”

Google’s latest crypto feature enables some Ethereum wallet addresses to have their Ether (ETH) balances tracked straight off of the Google search engine — saving the need to make the trip to Etherscan. 

The feature was first made public by the principal of Google Ventures, Han Hua, in an Oct. 11 tweet.

But Cointelegraph’s attempt to search for a Bitcoin (BTC) address revealed a no-show on Google. Angel investor Stephen Cole was not impressed, tweeting “Does Google not know about Bitcoin?”

Cointelegraph also tried several different Ethereum addresses — most of which didn’t work. So, the functionality is very limited at present and may improve over time.

Nonetheless, recent efforts suggest Google is playing a key role in onboarding internet users to the world of blockchain-based services and Web3.

The new feature comes in addition to Google’s partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase on Oct. 11 to allow its customers to pay for cloud services in crypto, which is expected to take effect in early 2023.

Google also got in on the Ethereum Merge hype by embedding a countdown ticker until the point at which Ethereum transitioned from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

Related: Near Protocol partners with Google Cloud to support Web3 devs

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Markus Thielen, chief investment officer of digital asset services platform Matrixport, said we shouldn’t be surprised by Google’s efforts in the Web3 space as both commercial banks and Web2 companies continue to do an “enormous amount of work in the background,” adding:

“This crypto winter is clearly different as established firms continue to deploy their balance sheet [to crypto investments] and might even leapfrog the incumbents.”

But while Google’s efforts are welcome, Thielen believes a mass adoption event for Web3 could come “when the iPhone can be used as a crypto wallet.”

“If and when this happens, the crypto industry will go from 100 miles an hour to 250 miles in a heartbeat,” he added.

Community reaction

Vittorio Rivabella, developer relations manager of Web3 development platform Alchemy, said the news of Google’s new Ethereum address search feature was “bullish.”

However, SadPanda.blockchain, the former editor-in-chief at Web3ArtBlog.NFT, wasn’t so thrilled with the news, arguing that Google “will sell our blockchain data to advertisers in order to target us via our wallets!”


Experts reveal what Tesla’s $936M sell-off means for Bitcoin

Telsa CEO noted that the sale “should not be taken as a verdict on Bitcoin” and is “certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in the future.”

Crypto industry experts are largely unfazed by Tesla’s decision to sell 75% of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, saying it’s a fairly typical strategy for companies to improve cash flow during economic slowdowns. 

On Wednesday, the electric vehicle manufacturer revealed that it had sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q2, adding $936 million in fiat to its balance sheet.

During a conference call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted that the sale “should not be taken as a verdict on Bitcoin,” explaining that the move was due to liquidity concerns given the continued Covid lockdowns in China.

“The reason we sold a bunch of our Bitcoin holdings was that we were uncertain as to when the Covid lockdowns in China would alleviate. So it was important for us to maximize our cash position.”

“We are certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in the future.”

Asked by investors during the earnings call whether he saw Bitcoin as a long-term asset, Musk said the cryptocurrency was a “sideshow to the sideshow” of Tesla’s main goal, which is “to accelerate the advent of stable energy.”

“Cryptocurrency is not something we think of a lot,” he said.

Markus Thielen, chief investment officer at Singapore-based digital asset manager IDEG told Cointelegraph that Tesla likely sold off its Bitcoin as it was “seen as a distraction from their core business.”

“I would not be surprised if Tesla keeps nibbling in Bitcoin when Bitcoin stabilizes, otherwise they would have sold 100%.”

Comparison site Finder’s share trading expert Kylie Purcell explained that the electric car manufacturer hasn’t been alone in its decision to “shore up capital in cash currencies.”

“With the world heading into an economic slowdown and possibly a recession, it’s not unusual for investors and companies to move capital away from more volatile assets into fiat currency,” she noted.

She also added that while the price of Bitcoin dipped following the announcement, there are already signs of recovery.

On Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price fell approximately 2.6% following Tesla’s announcement and has returned to $23,299 at the time of writing — tracking close to its one-month high, meaning that the crypto community may not have been too concerned by the announcement.

The muted reaction to the sale played out differently to the announcement in February last year that Telsa had scooped up $1.5 billion in BTC to add to its balance sheet and was planning on  accepting Bitcoin as payment for certain products (though this was later scrapped).

The news at the tim saw Bitcoin’s price immediately jump by almost $3,000, bringing the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high above $43,000.

Related: Bitcoin price dips under $23K after earnings report reveals Tesla sold 75% of its BTC

Swyftx’s head of strategic partnerships, Tommy Honan told Cointelegraph that Tesla’s decision to buy Bitcoin last year was “as important a moment as you can imagine for digital assets.”

“It almost gave other businesses permission to put crypto on their balance sheets and we saw a lot of big institutional investors, as well as small and mid-cap companies flood into the market from that point.”

“Musk said the sale wasn’t a verdict on Bitcoin, just a cash play, and it looks like the market has taken him at his word. Bitcoin’s price has stabilized over the last 24 hours and we’d be surprised if other big investors followed suit, especially given the current price of Bitcoin.”

Experts reveal what Tesla’s $936M sell-off means for Bitcoin

Telsa CEO noted that the sale “should not be taken as a verdict on Bitcoin” and is “certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in the future.”

Crypto industry experts are largely unfazed by Tesla’s decision to sell 75% of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, saying it’s a fairly typical strategy for companies to improve cash flow during economic slowdowns. 

On Wednesday, the electric vehicle manufacturer revealed that it had sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q2, adding $936 million in fiat to its balance sheet.

During a conference call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted that the sale “should not be taken as a verdict on Bitcoin,” explaining that the move was due to liquidity concerns given the continued COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

“The reason we sold a bunch of our Bitcoin holdings was that we were uncertain as to when the Covid lockdowns in China would alleviate. So it was important for us to maximize our cash position:”

“We are certainly open to increasing our Bitcoin holdings in the future.”

Asked by investors during the earnings call whether he saw Bitcoin as a long-term asset, Musk said the cryptocurrency was a “sideshow to the sideshow” of Tesla’s main goal, which is “to accelerate the advent of stable energy.”

“Cryptocurrency is not something we think of a lot,” he said.

Markus Thielen, chief investment officer at Singapore-based digital asset manager IDEG, told Cointelegraph that Tesla likely sold off its Bitcoin as it was “seen as a distraction from their core business:”

“I would not be surprised if Tesla keeps nibbling in Bitcoin when Bitcoin stabilizes, otherwise they would have sold 100%.”

Comparison site Finder’s share trading expert Kylie Purcell explained that the electric car manufacturer hasn’t been alone in its decision to “shore up capital in cash currencies.”

“With the world heading into an economic slowdown and possibly a recession, it’s not unusual for investors and companies to move capital away from more volatile assets into fiat currency,” she noted.

She also added that while the price of Bitcoin dipped following the announcement, there are already signs of recovery.

On Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price fell approximately 2.6% following Tesla’s announcement and has returned to $23,299 at the time of writing — tracking close to its one-month high, meaning that the crypto community may not have been too concerned by the announcement.

The muted reaction to the sale played out differently from the announcement in February last year that Telsa had scooped up $1.5 billion in BTC to add to its balance sheet and was planning on accepting Bitcoin as payment for certain products (though this was later scrapped).

The news at the time saw Bitcoin’s price immediately jump by almost $3,000, bringing the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high above $43,000.

Related: Bitcoin price dips under $23K after earnings report reveals Tesla sold 75% of its BTC

Swyftx’s head of strategic partnerships, Tommy Honan, told Cointelegraph that Tesla’s decision to buy Bitcoin last year was “as important a moment as you can imagine for digital assets:”

“It almost gave other businesses permission to put crypto on their balance sheets and we saw a lot of big institutional investors, as well as small and mid-cap companies flood into the market from that point.”

“Musk said the sale wasn’t a verdict on Bitcoin, just a cash play, and it looks like the market has taken him at his word. Bitcoin’s price has stabilized over the last 24 hours and we’d be surprised if other big investors followed suit, especially given the current price of Bitcoin.”