Bitcoin has come a long way, from a grassroots monetary experiment to a gradually maturing financial asset. While it took time for Wall Street to accept an independent disruptor, once Bitcoin proved its resilience, institutions no longer turned their backs.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January 2024 marked a clear turning point. No longer confined to cryptocurrency platforms, Bitcoin can now be held through brokerage firms, pension funds, and even insurance products.
The wave of acceptance from organizations not only increases the value of Bitcoin but also shapes it within the global economy. Lower volatility, stronger infrastructure, and easier access are allowing Bitcoin to evolve from a covert savings tool into a functional store of value, and ultimately, to become a usable medium of exchange.
Big money brings stability
Institutional capital behaves differently from individual investor capital. While individual investors often react emotionally — selling when prices drop or rushing in when prices rise — large institutions typically act with a longer-term vision. This behavior has begun to stabilize Bitcoin's market cycles.
The flow of spot ETF funds reflects this transformation. Since their launch in early 2024, Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have regularly recorded net inflows during price corrections, with funds like BlackRock's IBIT absorbing capital while individual investor sentiment has turned cautious. However, February–March 2025 was an exception: Political uncertainty and tariff concerns led to widespread capital outflows, including Bitcoin. Nevertheless, on the whole, institutions tend to average into price dips rather than panic sell.
Volatility data confirms this trend: Bitcoin's 30-day volatility has significantly decreased during the 2023–2026 cycle, likely due to the stabilizing effect of spot BTC ETFs. While the 2019–2022 cycle saw many spikes above 100%, peaking at 158%, the current cycle has been markedly calmer. Since the beginning of 2024, volatility has hovered around 50% and recently dropped to just 35%, comparable to the S&P 500 (22%) and gold (16%).
Lower volatility not only calms investor sentiment but also improves Bitcoin's usability as a medium of exchange. Traders, payment service providers, and users all benefit from predictable pricing. Although on-chain data still shows that most of Bitcoin's activity is driven by storage and speculation, a more stable price could encourage broader transactional use.
Will big money drive Bitcoin acceptance?
Organizationalization is also driving Bitcoin acceptance by making it more accessible to the public. Individual and corporate investors who cannot or do not want to self-manage BTC can now access it through familiar traditional investment products.
In the past 18 months, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated over $143 billion in assets under management (AUM). Although most of this AUM is held by individual investors, institutional participation is rapidly increasing through investment advisors, hedge funds, pension funds, and other professional asset managers. As these entities begin to provide access to Bitcoin for their clients and shareholders, acceptance will spread.
Ric Edelman, co-founder of Edelman Financial Engines — a $293 billion RIA (registered investment advisor) ranked number 1 in the U.S. by Barron’s — has recently drawn attention with his updated cryptocurrency allocation guidance.
In what Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg calls the 'strongest endorsement from the TradFi world for cryptocurrency since Larry Fink,' Edelman advises conservative investors to hold at least 10% in cryptocurrency, 25% for moderate investors, and up to 40% for venture investors. His reasoning is simple: 'Owning cryptocurrency is no longer a speculative position; not doing so is speculative.'
With investment advisors currently managing over $146 trillion in AUM, the potential demand for Bitcoin is enormous. Even a 'moderate' allocation of 10% would represent $14.6 trillion in potential inflows — a 330% increase from Bitcoin's current market capitalization of $3.4 trillion. A more cautious 1% shift would still pump in over $1.4 trillion — enough to structurally revalue the market.
Pension funds, managing a total of $34 trillion, are also slowly getting involved. Pension funds in Wisconsin and Indiana, USA, have announced direct investments in spot ETF funds. These moves are significant: When Bitcoin becomes an item in pension portfolios, the psychological and procedural barriers to participation will collapse.
The organizationalization of Bitcoin is not just a story about Wall Street's acceptance. It is a shift in Bitcoin's role — from a rebellious speculative asset to an alternative financial system.
However, this evolution comes with trade-offs. Concentration, custody risk, and increasing regulatory influence could undermine the very independence that has provided value to Bitcoin from the beginning. The forces driving acceptance may ultimately challenge the limits of Bitcoin's decentralization.