Coinbase’s head of institutional strategy, John D’Agostino, says big investors aren’t pulling back from Bitcoin’s latest drop, even after the asset fell below $60,000 for the first time since October 2024. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on June 8, D’Agostino said institutional investors, family offices, and sovereign-linked buyers see the decline as a chance to buy more, not a reason to sell. The comments came during a discussion about whether Bitcoin’s slide toward $59,000 could hold as a support level. CNBC’s Joe Kernen raised concerns that a deeper break could lead to a much bigger drop. D’Agostino didn’t make a direct price prediction, saying he doesn’t want to give investment advice, but he pointed to how long-term investors he talks to through Coinbase’s institutional business are acting. “What I can tell you is I have the privilege of speaking with institutional investors. They’ve spent months and years studying this asset class. So when they see it’s cheaper, they like it,” D’Agostino said. He added that some investors have set price targets, while others focus on long-term accumulation. According to D’Agostino, recent conversations in the Middle East suggest that major buyers are comfortable with the decline. “I just got off a plane from the Middle East. And I can tell you that the family offices in the UAE and the government and sovereign funds I’m working with to buy this asset class are not unhappy about being able to buy it at a discount.”
Coinbase Exec Points To Stronger Bitcoin Infrastructure
D’Agostino’s main point wasn’t that Bitcoin’s price has definitely found a bottom, but that the institutional market around the asset is much stronger than in past downturns. He said Coinbase is seeing the “institutional piping” that supports Bitcoin and other crypto assets continue to grow in both good and bad market conditions. Compared to his earlier CNBC appearances during stronger price periods, he said the market now has a “shockingly stronger level of infrastructure.” He argued that this infrastructure is what many institutional investors focus on when deciding if Bitcoin is becoming a more reliable long-term investment. He also pointed to spot ETFs as proof that retail and institutional demand hasn’t collapsed along with the price. D’Agostino said there’s still about $100 billion in Bitcoin ETF exposure, calling the products “very, very new.” Even though Bitcoin is down almost 50% from its peak, he said retail interest has only dropped by about 15%. “So I think both retail and institutional are signaling this is a long-term asset you want to hold,” he said.
Macro Pressure, Leverage And Market Structure
When asked to explain the selloff, D’Agostino said Kernen had identified the main consensus factors: risk-off positioning, investors selling liquid assets to fund other opportunities, higher-for-longer interest rates, weaker support for the debasement trade, and uncertainty around regulatory clarity. He didn’t dismiss those pressures as unimportant, but argued that volatility is a normal part of long-term commodity-like assets. “Volatility is a funny thing, right? If I told you a year ago, we’d be 100 days into a war with Iran with the Strait of Hormuz being closed and no clear sign of it reopening. Would you think crude oil would still be trading under $100 a barrel?” D’Agostino said. He said his background leads him to view Bitcoin as a commodity-style asset, where volatility can come and go while long-term demand stays strong. He also pointed to pending policy work in Washington, saying that market structure and tax reform might not be exciting topics, but they could be important for institutional adoption.He said, “We have seven bills moving through that will do a lot of good for the infrastructure supporting Bitcoin and other crypto assets.” On the topic of leverage, D’Agostino noted that he isn’t aware of any large institutional Bitcoin holders who are dangerously over-leveraged to the point where they’d be forced to sell. He contrasted this with retail traders on offshore exchanges, where extreme leverage can lead to rapid sell-offs during sudden market shocks. “For some of the bigger entities holding Bitcoin with leverage, they seem to have an endless ability to tap the market and bring in more capital to support their buying,” he said. D’Agostino concluded by saying he doesn’t see any panic among institutions. Instead, he noted that large investors are looking for the cheapest ways to raise new capital and increase their exposure to an asset they “loved at $125k,” “liked at $100k,” and “love even more at $65k.” At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $63,345. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the news that a Coinbase executive says institutions and governments are buying Bitcoin especially at a discount
BeginnerLevel Questions
Q Why is a Coinbase executive saying institutions are buying Bitcoin at a discount
A They believe the current market price is lower than what the longterm value will be So big investors see it as a sale compared to where they think the price is going
Q What does institutions mean in this context
A It refers to large professional organizations like investment firms pension funds hedge funds and even publicly traded companies
Q Why would governments buy Bitcoin
A Governments might buy it to hold as a reserve asset to diversify away from the US dollar or because they see it as a strategic technology for the future
Q If big players are buying does that mean I should buy too
A Not necessarily It suggests they have high confidence but Bitcoin is still very volatile You should only invest money you can afford to lose and do your own research
Q Is Bitcoin actually on sale right now
A The term discount is their opinion The price has dropped from its alltime high so from that perspective its cheaper But it could always drop further Its not a guarantee
Intermediate Advanced Questions
Q If institutions are buying why isnt the price going up
A Good question They often buy in large overthecounter deals to avoid driving the price up Also other sellers might be selling at the same time keeping the price flat or down
Q What specific evidence is there that institutions are buying
A Besides executive statements you can look at data like
ETF inflows Money flowing into US spot Bitcoin ETFs
Onchain data Large whale wallets accumulating Bitcoin
Public filings Companies like MicroStrategy announcing new Bitcoin purchases
Q How is this discount different from the 2022 bear market