Could the next bull run be coming for the Bitcoin price?

The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is trading roughly where it was this time yesterday at US$19,112 (AU$30,463).

The world’s first and highest valued crypto is still down 60% in 2022, and down around 72% from the record highs BTC reached on November 10 last year.

With the Bitcoin price down so dramatically so quickly, it’s no wonder that many retail investors have lost their appetite for the digital token and its fellow altcoins.

But, as Justin Arzadon, head of digital assets at Betashares, pointed out to Livewire, institutional investor interest remains relatively robust. And that could bode well for Bitcoin and the wider crypto world in the year ahead.

Why Institutional Investors Could Spur Bitcoin Price to Another Bull Run

Citing data from Cointree, Arzadon noted that retail investor sentiment in cryptoassets, based largely on the price of Bitcoin and “other major cryptocurrencies,” is in the “extreme fear” section of Cointree’s Fear and Greed Index.

But he said the smart money, or institutional funds, are not nearly as anxious.

“Looking at the price and action of Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market over the past year, it appears that institutional money is following Warren Buffett’s advice, ‘Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful,'” he said.

Underscoring that there are no guarantees in life, let alone when it comes to crypto investors hoping that the Bitcoin price will rise to new heights, Arzadon added:

Some of the biggest institutional leaders in the world are getting involved in, or deeper into, the crypto economy. This leads me to believe that they are not only going to be huge beneficiaries of the next bull run, but that they are also laying down the infrastructure that can help make it happen.

Institutional adoption has arrived

Global asset manager BlackRock is just one of the big firms entering the crypto space in 2022.

Blackrock announced the launch of its Bitcoin private trust for its institutional clients in early August. It gives the ‘smart money’ direct exposure to the movements in the Bitcoin price.

According to Blackrock:

Despite the sharp decline in the market for digital assets, we continue to see significant interest from some institutional customers in how we can efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities.

Bitcoin is the oldest, largest and most liquid crypto-asset, and is currently the primary topic of interest from our clients.

So when can investors expect the next bull in the Bitcoin price?

“For the next bull run to take place, I have been adamant that three things are necessary. Adoption from both institutional and retail segments, regulatory clarity and real-world use cases,” said Arzadon.

“The use cases continue to evolve, regulations are slowly coming into place and are expected to become clearer in 2023-24, but it is clear that institutional adoption has arrived,” he added.