Bitwise Head of Research: Sovereigns Selling Gold for Bitcoin | Ryan Rasmussen
Bitcoin Magazine Bitwise Head of Research: Sovereigns Selling Gold for Bitcoin | Ryan Rasmussen Bitwise’s Ryan Rasmussen breaks down institutional crypto adoption, revealing why pensions and sovereig...
Bitwise’s Ryan Rasmussen breaks down institutional crypto adoption, revealing why pensions and sovereign funds bought the dip from $125K to $60K.
When Bitcoin fell from $125K to $60K, not one of the 15 major institutions Bitwise interviewed sold, and many bought more. Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise, breaks down the firm’s first institutional crypto adoption report, covering pensions, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds, and why they treat Bitcoin alongside gold as a hedge against debasement.
Chapters:0:00 Ryan Rasmussen on Bitwise’s Institutional Crypto Adoption Report0:49 Why No Institutions Sold Bitcoin During the Bear Market1:45 Wells Fargo’s 2–3% Bitcoin Allocation and the Debasement Thesis3:45 Fidelity, BlackRock, and 2–8% Bitcoin Allocations4:50 How ETFs Made This Bitcoin Bear Market Shallower6:24 $2.5B in Weekly ETF Inflows and a New Wave of Capital7:06 Why Bitwise Believes the Bitcoin Bottom Was $60K9:36 Why Institutions Hold Both Bitcoin and Gold11:37 Sovereign Wealth Funds Selling Gold to Buy Bitcoin15:17 Why Bitcoin Isn’t Correlated to Bonds, Gold, or Stocks
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Asanat Analysis — Why it matters
Sovereign asset reallocation from gold to Bitcoin signals a structural shift in how nation-states view store-of-value assets. If true at scale, this would represent a fundamental challenge to gold's 5,000-year role as the ultimate reserve asset. The thesis assumes sovereigns perceive Bitcoin's fixed supply (21M cap) and programmable scarcity as superior to gold's inflation risk and physical custody complexities. This claim warrants scrutiny—most sovereigns have moved cautiously (El Salvador, small emerging markets) rather than meaningfully redeploying reserves.
The narrative carries second-order implications for Bitcoin's macro narrative but should be weighted against structural barriers: regulatory uncertainty in major economies, geopolitical fragmentation making a USD-alternative reserve contentious, and the absence of major G10 central bank adoption despite years of institutional entry. Pension fund moves into crypto remain constrained by fiduciary duty frameworks and custody infrastructure gaps. Rasmussen's framing likely reflects bullish sentiment within institutional crypto circles rather than imminent sovereign behavior.
This story matters for what it reveals about institutional positioning and narrative construction in 2026—not necessarily future state. Tracking actual sovereign Bitcoin holdings (via on-chain analysis and official disclosures) remains more reliable than forward-looking adoption claims.