Cryptocurrency

‘The Great Accumulation’ of Bitcoin has begun, says Gemini’s Winklevoss

Recently renewed optimism for an approved Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) is igniting “The Great Accumulation Race” for Bitcoin, according to industry pundits.

Over the past week, Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree and Valkyrie have followed investment giant BlackRock in applying for a Bitcoin spot ETF with the United States Securities Exchange Commission, which some analysts believe is the reason for Bitcoin’s 19% price surge to $30,240 since June 16.

Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, stated on June 21 that he believe“The Great Accumulation” of Bitcoin has begun between institutions and retail investors.

He suggested that buying Bitcoin prior to the ETFs hitting the public market is akin to that of a pre-Initial Public Offering purchase and suggested that the “floodgates” for buying Bitcoin are “closing fast.”

MicroStrategy Chair Michael Saylor weighed in on the subject in his own post, suggesting that retail investors may soon be pushed aside by increasing institutional demand:

“The window to front-run institutional demand for Bitcoin is closing.”

Bitcoin is currently trading hands for $30,240, while the Crypto Fear and Greed index has skyrocketed from 49 (Neutral) to 65 (Greed) in just the last two days.

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index at 65 as of June 22. Source: Alternative.me

In a June 21 interview with CNBC, Bitcoin investor Anthony Pompliano said he expects a tug-of-war to play out between retail investors and Wall Street:

“We have institutions and individuals scrambling to try to get their share of the 21 million Bitcoin that will ever be in existence. The retail investor for 15 years now has a head start and has accumulated all the Bitcoin that’s been mined and put into circulation, but 68% of that hasn’t moved in a year.”

“People forget that bitcoin went from $0 to nearly $1 trillion market cap with almost no institutional participation,” said Pompliano in a June 21 Twitter post.

So when “Wall Street and BlackRock show up to the market,” Pompliano expects Bitcoin to become “highly illiquid” because retailers “don’t want to sell to Wall Street,” he added during the CNBC interview.

Related: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust nears 2023 highs on BlackRock ETF filing as buyers step up

Meanwhile, Dylan LeClair, a Bitcoin analyst and founder of 21st Paradigm explained that Bitcoin’s price is now “extremely inelastic” — “more so than ever” — amid the recent ETF filings, which are serving as a “catalyst” for large amounts of new flows into the market.

However, LeClair predicts that no ETF application will be approved by the SEC until January or February 2024 at the earliest.

Magazine: Hall of Flame: William Clemente III tips Bitcoin will hit six figures toward end of 2024