As bitcoin breaks a new all-time high at $126,000, the prevailing sentiment is one of an already inaccessible market. However, contrary to this impression, recent data paint a very different picture. According to Cosmo Jiang, partner at Pantera Capital, more than 60% of investors still have no exposure to cryptos. This telling figure serves as a reminder that the majority of adoption potential is yet to come.
In brief
- Bitcoin surpasses $126,000, but that doesn't mean the market is saturated.
- More than 60% of investors still have no exposure to cryptos, according to Bank of America.
- Adoption remains marginal, even in the most advanced countries, such as the United States or the United Arab Emirates.
- Cosmo Jiang (Pantera Capital) says the growth potential of cryptos remains largely intact.
Adoption still marginal
Despite bitcoin just surpassing $126,000, setting a new all-time high, many investors remain convinced that it is too late to enter the market.
It is precisely this perception that Cosmo Jiang, partner at Pantera Capital, wanted to correct during his speech on CNBC. He said: “ There's a Bank of America survey from a few weeks ago that shows over 60% of investors still have no exposure to cryptos“.
This statement is not based on intuition, but on solid numbers which reveal a market that is still largely under-exploited. Here is the key data:
- More than 60% of investors (all profiles combined) currently have no exposure to cryptos, according to a recent study by Bank of America;
- In the United States, only 21% of adults hold crypto;
- Globally, even the most advanced countries in terms of adoption remain below 30%. The United Arab Emirates, in the lead, has 25.3% adoption.
These figures show that despite the spectacular performance of the market, the majority of investors, both individuals and institutions, are still away from the crypto ecosystem. Far from signaling a saturated market, this observation rather indicates a still early phase of the adoption cycle, where the growth potential remains very significant.
Bitcoin legitimized, altcoins take over
In addition to the market's still significant growth potential, Jiang believes that, from Pantera's point of view, the last few years have mainly served to legitimize bitcoin. Now, people have understood its value, and it is the turn of altcoins to step into the spotlight.
The shift mentioned here is clear. The pioneering role of bitcoin is now institutionalized, and market dynamics are turning towards altcoins, perceived as infrastructures with strong technological potential.
With this in mind, Jiang goes so far as to suggest that“Solana is poised to become what a next-generation tech mega-cap could be”. This strategic repositioning of the market coincides with a major change in the regulatory context in the United States.
Two pieces of legislation in particular are attracting attention: the GENIUS Act, already signed by President Trump in July, and the CLARITY Act, focused on the structure of the crypto market, which could be adopted by the end of the year. At the same time, flows into Bitcoin ETFs are exploding, reaching $3.24 billion in net inflows last week, a level almost on par with their November 2024 record.
This new cycle, fueled by massive institutional flows and regulations currently being clarified, is creating an unprecedented environment for altcoins. If bitcoin, which aims for the status of gold, retains its role as a store of value, investors are now looking beyond it, towards projects capable of bringing concrete uses, decentralized infrastructures and large-scale innovations. This end of the year could thus mark the beginning of a new era where the growth of the crypto market will no longer be based only on the legitimacy of bitcoin, but on the maturation of a diversified, structured and institutionalized ecosystem.
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