Institutional demand for Bitcoin is weak, says Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou

JPMorgan strategist said that the current Bitcoin price levels (quotation in real time) are not attractive to institutional investors.

Would bitcoin be attractive only under 30 thousand? 

Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Managing Director, Global Market Strategy at JPMorgan, recently voiced his views on Bitcoin and highlighted weak institutional demand for the world's largest cryptocurrency.

In an interview with Business Insider, Panigirtzoglou said Bitcoin may need to drop below $ 30.000 before its institutional demand spikes. He added that the big players in the market are not buying Bitcoin's latest drop.

“If you ask institutional investors right now if $ 50.000 or $ 60.000 seems like an attractive level for bitcoin, they will most likely say no. I fear we may need to see bitcoin drop below $ 30.000 for that institutional interest to rise substantially, ”Panigirtzoglou told Business Insider.

Bitcoin's price is currently down nearly 40% from its all-time high of $ 64.000 in April 2021. However, Elon Musk's latest comments have caused a significant increase in demand for BTC, as more The world's largest cryptocurrency has risen by nearly 12% in the past 24 hours. BTC market dominance surpassed 45% today, the highest level since May 2021.

Institutional interest in Bitcoin

In a recent LinkedIn post, Panigirtzoglou said that due to the latest cryptocurrency market correction, Bitcoin futures are moving towards regression for the first time since 2018. 

Additionally, Panigirtzoglou highlighted a decline in institutional BTC fund flows. “If I look at these bitcoin fund streams, there is no evidence here of a drop buying mentality,” he said. In its latest weekly report on digital fund flows, CoinShares said that BTC investment products experienced $ 141 million worth of outflows during the first week of June 2021.

“Last month's correction in cryptocurrency markets saw BTC futures move into backwardation for the first time since 2018. This is an unusual development and a reflection of how weak bitcoin demand is currently among institutional investors, who tend to use regulated CME futures contracts to gain exposure to bitcoin. When demand is particularly weak and price expectations turn bearish, the futures curve shifts into backwardation, ”Panigirtzoglou explained on LinkedIn.

In short, according to Panigirtzoglou, institutions would be interested in buying bitcoin, but at a much lower price. Evidently, this could lead "someone" to bury the markets, just to take advantage of all this. Ready to bet that bitcoin will not return to its record levels anytime soon. Let us know what you think in the comments section below!