Bitcoin’s downside support is getting stronger, even as a trillion-dollar AI spending spree and stalled crypto legislation create headwinds for the market. That’s the read from Bitwise’s Juan Leon, who laid out a surprisingly bullish case on July 9 for why the largest cryptocurrency’s price floor keeps ratcheting higher.
Leon, Bitwise’s Senior Investment Strategist, pointed to a split among institutional investors that tells an interesting story. One camp is treating recent price pullbacks as a buying opportunity. The other is parked on the sidelines, waiting for US regulators and lawmakers to provide the operational clarity they need before deploying capital.
The institutional tug of war
During previous market downturns, institutional holders of Bitcoin ETFs, including Bitwise’s own BITB product, displayed what the firm describes as “diamond hands.” They held through volatility rather than panic-selling, a behavior that naturally creates a rising floor under the asset’s price.
The more cautious players are waiting specifically for movement on the Clarity Act and other pending crypto legislation that has been grinding through Congress. These are the types of allocators who need a clear legal framework before their compliance teams will sign off on meaningful positions.
