“For most institutional investors, cryptocurrencies as an asset class actually don’t exist.”
As stated in the institutional portfolio investment (Asset Management) department of the largest U.S. bank, JP Morgan, “for most institutional investors, cryptocurrencies as an asset class actually don’t exist. High volatility is one factor that worries money market asset managers, “volatility is too high.”
The question remains open as to what “bottom” cryptocurrencies can fall to. In the case of stocks and bonds, there is a notion that the “bottom” of the decline is determined by the cash flow generated by the issuers of such securities. In the case of cryptocurrencies, it is difficult to determine such a thing.
JP Morgan noted that a number of institutional investors are glad they have not entered the cryptocurrency market so far, as they could have lost their investments. Moreover, quite a number of them are not planning to enter this market in the foreseeable future either, as they believe that the bitcoin market’s bearish phase has invalidated the thesis that the cryptocurrency number one could play the role of “digital gold,” or that this digital asset would be able to become one of the tools of hedging high inflation and stagflation risks in major economies worldwide and in the global economy in general.
Despite statements from JP Morgan, in October, America’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon, announced that it intends to provide custody services for some of its institutional clients bitcoins and Ethereum. In the fall, France’s Société Générale received permission from the regulator in Paris to store cryptocurrencies.
It is worth noting that the same JP Morgan, talking about the widespread skepticism towards cryptocurrencies by institutional investors, turn attention to the fact that about 43 million Americans have owned cryptocurrencies at least once in their lives.