The mega-rally towards the end of last year was, in part, due to things like CME & CBOE futures and LedgerX options launching. There was a sense that institutional money was about to get in the game and people wanted to front run that money. However, volume stayed relatively flat after those launches and new money didn’t flow in as much as some people expected.
Now, Coinbase is in the process of launching a custody solution and some other groups will be launching custody offerings later this year as well. This narrative that custody is right around the corner could reignite the news cycle around institutional money entering the space. Will institutionalization actually happen now? If people try to front run that money again, will we see a bull run this coming summer as these custody products get set to roll out?
There is a bull run going on already. Institutional money or not, the bullish period is apparently set to continue and this year seems like any record won't be broken.
However, I would like to see the strategies of these institutional buyers in the crypto world. These custody solution seems to be a important thing now, prices may fluctuate based on this easily. Must keep an eye on this.