Why this “extremely bullish” leader believes crypto’s next bull cycle has already started
- One River CEO Eric Peters believes the next crypto bull run will be very powerful and driven by institutional adoption
- Regulatory uncertainty is stopping institutional entry, he added
Eric Peters, CEO of One River Digital Asset Management, believes that the next crypto bull run will be very powerful as it will be driven by institutional adoption. In fact, the manager believes that a bull run may have already begun, despite prevailing disadvantages.
In a recent edition of the Bankless podcast, the leader claimed that the crypto winter has already passed, comparing last year’s debacle to the Wall Street crash of 1929.
Peters believes that large institutions will participate in the next cycle. In fact, he is “extremely bullish” on the medium to long term. In addition, he suggested that the bull run has already begun, citing the strengthening of the market since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin ended 2022 with a value of around $16,500. At the time of writing, it was trading at around $22,400 (an increase of 35%). It even peaked at $25,000 in February, a value last seen last June.
Peters also touched on the FTX episode. In doing so, he credited the firm’s conservative approach and shared the reasons why they did not fall for FTX’s hype.
According to Peters, it is the regulatory uncertainty that stops institutions from diving into the crypto ecosystem. As of now, two national regulatory bodies, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are engaged in a battle for control of crypto assets. Currently there is a lot of confusion whether Bitcoin, Ethereum are securities or commodities.
Once the US, Europe and Canada impose appropriate rules and regulations, institutional capital should flow into the industry, he concluded.
Peters also suggested that the 2022 cryptocurrency market crash taught people some critical trading lessons. He advised potential investors to join the bandwagon only if they are prepared for volatility and different cycles.
A low target for institutional investment
Towards the end of last year, S&P Global Market Intelligence published a report, one that highlighted institutional investments in cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi).
As of December 16, institutional investors, private equity and venture capital investments in cryptocurrency and DeFi totaled $917.8 million since the beginning of Q4 2022. The quarterly total was the lowest in the past two years. This was the same period that FTX collapsed.
Source: S&P Global
Private equity, venture capital and institutional investors increased their investments in cryptocurrency and DeFi almost fivefold in 2021, totaling $13.65 billion. This trend continued into the first quarter of 2022, when institutional investment in cryptocurrency and DeFi peaked at $5.07 billion, before plummeting.
The second quarter total of $2.94 billion in investments saw a decline of nearly 42% from the previous three-month period. During this phase, the Terra ecosystem also collapsed.
