Coinbase’s head of institutional strategy, John D’Agostino, says big investors aren’t pulling out of Bitcoin’s latest sell-off, even after its value 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 government bond-linked buyers are viewing the pullback as an opportunity to accumulate rather than a reason to exit the market.
The comments came during a discussion about whether Bitcoin’s decline towards the $59,000 area could count as support, with CNBC’s Joe Kernen noting concerns that a deeper break could open the door for a much bigger move down. D’Agostino declined to make a direct price call, saying he doesn’t want to provide investment advice, but pointed to the behavior of long-term allocators he speaks to through Coinbase’s institutional business.
“What I can tell you is that I have the luxury of talking to institutional investors. They’ve spent months and years researching this asset class. So if they do that and it’s cheaper, they like it,” D’Agostino said.
He added that some investors have defined price targets, while others are focusing on long-term accumulation. According to D’Agostino, recent conversations in the Middle East suggest that major buyers are comfortable with the decline.
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“I’m just getting out of the Middle East. And I can tell you that the UAE family offices and the government and sovereign wealth funds that I’m making the effort 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 core argument was not that Bitcoin’s price had necessarily found a bottom, but that the institutional market around the asset is significantly stronger than during previous price declines. He said Coinbase sees the “institutional piping” that supports Bitcoin and other crypto assets continuing to develop in both bullish and bearish market environments.
Compared to CNBC’s previous performances during stronger price conditions, he said the market now has a “shockingly stronger level of infrastructure.” That infrastructure, he argued, is what many institutional investors focus on when assessing whether Bitcoin is becoming a more sustainable long-term allocation.
He also pointed out that ETFs are evidence that retail and institutional demand has not collapsed along with the price. D’Agostino said there is still about $100 billion in Bitcoin ETF exposure, describing the products as “very, very new.” Despite Bitcoin being down nearly 50% from its peak, he said retail interest rates are only down about 15%.
“So I think both the private and institutional sectors are indicating that this is a long-term asset that you want to keep,” he said.
Macro pressures, leverage and market structure
Asked for an explanation for the sell-off, D’Agostino said Kernen had identified the key consensus factors: risk-off positioning, investors selling liquid assets to fund other opportunities, higher interest rates, weaker support for the debasing trade and uncertainty around regulatory clarity. He did not dismiss these pressures as irrelevant, but argued that volatility is a hallmark of commodity-like assets with long durations.
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“Volatility is a funny thing, right? If I told you a year ago, we would be at war with Iran for 100 days, with the Strait of Hormuz closed and no clear view of its opening. Would you think crude oil would still be trading below $100 a barrel?” D’Agostino said.
He said his background leads him to view Bitcoin as a commodity style, where volatility can come and go while long-term demand remains intact. He also pointed to ongoing policy work in Washington, saying market structure and tax reform may not be exciting topics but could be important for institutional adoption. “There are seven bills floating around that will do great things for the institutional pipelines that support Bitcoin and other crypto assets,” he said.
As for leverage, D’Agostino said he is not aware of any large institutional Bitcoin holders who are “horrifically overextended” at levels close enough to create a specific threshold for forced selling. He contrasted that with retail traders on offshore exchanges, where extreme debt levels can result in rapid liquidations during liquidity shocks.
“Some of the larger entities that own Bitcoin with leverage appear to have an endless ability to enter the market and raise more capital to support their buying activities,” he said.
D’Agostino concluded by saying he doesn’t see any institutional panic. Instead, he said large allocators are evaluating the cheapest ways to raise new capital and increase exposure to an asset they “loved at $125,000,” “loved at $100,000” and “love even more at $65,000.”
At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $63,345.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com