Sovereign wealth funds and other institutions were accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) during April 2025, while retail traders were exiting the markets via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and spot markets, according to John D’Agostino, the head of strategy at Coinbase Institutional.
During a recent appearance on CNBC, the Coinbase executive likened Bitcoin to gold and said that many institutional buyers bought BTC as a hedge against currency inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty. The Coinbase executive said:
“Bitcoin is trading on its core characteristics, which again are similar to gold. You’ve got scarcity, immutability, and non-sovereign asset portability. So it’s trading the way people who believe in Bitcoin would like it to trade.”
“When you do the work, there’s a very short list of assets that mirror the characteristics of gold. Bitcoin is on that shortlist,” the executive added.
Governments and financial institutions are