The Great Accumulation of Bitcoin Begins as Gemini's Winklevoss Sounds the Alarm
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss has announced that "The Great Accumulation" of Bitcoin has commenced, with institutions and retail investors actively acquiring the cryptocurrency. This development comes as several major financial institutions, including Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree, and Valkyrie, have submitted applications for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities Exchange Commission. The anticipation of ETF approval has contributed to a 19% surge in Bitcoin's price to $30,240 since June 16.
Winklevoss likens purchasing Bitcoin before the ETFs are publicly available to investing in a pre-Initial Public Offering, emphasizing that the opportunity to buy Bitcoin before the floodgates open is diminishing rapidly. MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor supports this sentiment, suggesting that retail investors may soon be overshadowed by increasing institutional demand. Saylor states that "the window to front-run institutional demand for Bitcoin is closing."
Bitcoin investor Anthony Pompliano anticipates a potential conflict between retail investors and Wall Street. While retail investors have accumulated a significant portion of the available Bitcoin over the past 15 years, Pompliano expects the entry of institutional investors to create liquidity challenges, as retail investors may be reluctant to sell to Wall Street. Pompliano highlights the significant market cap growth of Bitcoin with minimal institutional participation and speculates on the impact of institutional involvement.
Bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair emphasizes that Bitcoin's price has become highly inelastic due to the recent ETF filings, causing a surge of new capital into the market. However, LeClair predicts that the SEC will not approve any ETF applications until January or February 2024 at the earliest.
The race to accumulate Bitcoin is intensifying as the prospect of Bitcoin ETFs gains momentum. The involvement of major financial institutions and the expectation of increased institutional demand have contributed to Bitcoin's recent price surge. As the cryptocurrency market awaits regulatory decisions, the dynamics between retail investors and institutional players continue to evolve.
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