Bitcoin's ascent to $80K is driven by steady ETF demand, not retail FOMO, says Cameron Winklevoss

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin’s climb to $80,000 is attributed to strong institutional demand via spot Bitcoin ETFs, rather than retail FOMO.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs amassed about $2.3 billion in net inflows shortly after the US presidential elections.

Bitcoin reached $80,000 primarily due to consistent institutional demand through spot Bitcoin ETFs rather than retail investor activity, according to Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss.

He believes that this “sticky” demand from institutional investors is a sign of long-term bullish sentiment, and that the current market cycle is still in its early stages.

“The road to $80k bitcoin was paved with steady ETF demand. Not retail FOMO. Little fanfare. People buy ETFs, they don’t sell them. This is sticky HODL-like capital. Floor keeps rising,” Winklevoss stated. “We just won the coin toss, innings haven’t started.”

The performance of US crypto ETFs this week was largely determined by the outcome of the presidential elections. After Trump declared his victory on November 5, spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs reversed their trend.

According to Farside Investors data, the group of eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $622 million in net inflows on Wednesday. BlackRock’s IBIT achieved a record $4.1 billion in trading volume despite experiencing outflows that day.

IBIT subsequently recorded over $1 billion in net inflows on Thursday, increasing its assets under management to more than $33 billion. The ETF has now exceeded the size of BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust (IAU).

Overall, US spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively accumulated about $2.3 billion in net inflows during the three trading days following Election Day. Other crypto products also benefited, with spot Ethereum ETFs drawing nearly $218 million from Wednesday to Friday, Farside Investors data shows.

Bitcoin is on a hot streak, and it’s all thanks to a perfect storm of factors. Institutions are scooping up Bitcoin through ETFs, while the halving event has tightened supply. This combination of factors could push Bitcoin’s price to six figures, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.

Hougan also expects global monetary adjustments, like China’s stimulus measures and the Fed’s interest rate decision, to boost Bitcoin’s prices.

The Fed and the Bank of England continued their easing monetary policies on Thursday, with both central banks implementing 25-basis-point rate cuts. This followed the Fed’s more aggressive 50-basis-point reduction in September.