Sovereign wealth funds piling into BTC as retail exits — Coinbase exec

John D’Agostino, head of strategy at Coinbase Institutional, compared BTC to gold and said many traders view it as an inflationary hedge.

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:

"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.

Read more