Bitcoin: Price Down, Adoption Up

What has been happening to Bitcoin lately is quite paradoxical. 

In fact, while on one hand the price is falling, indicating a lack of interest from the markets, on the other hand, its adoption is increasing. 

Obviously, this is not about adoption as a medium of exchange, since Bitcoin is not, and perhaps never will be, a good transactional currency. Instead, it is about adoption as an investment form. 

The Price of Bitcoin

Between Monday and yesterday, there was a significant sharp drop in the price of Bitcoin. 

On Sunday it hovered around $67,000, but on Monday it fell below $65,000, and yesterday even below $63,000.

However, after the reopening of the American markets, the trend slightly reversed. 

In fact, first it climbed back above $64,000, and then last night, thanks to the Asian markets, it also rose above $65,000 with a brief visit to the $66,000 mark.

These figures are still below Sunday’s levels, although at this moment even a stable return above $66,000 could already be considered a good signal. 

The main issue once again appears to be fear. 

For some time now, the price trend of Bitcoin has been inversely correlated, for example, with the VIX, also known as the fear index, which measures the volatility of the S&P500 index.

On Friday, the VIX closed at around 19 points, while on Monday, at the reopening of the markets after the weekend, it was already above 20 points. 

The peak of recent days was recorded just yesterday, above the 21 mark, shortly before the reopening of the American markets, only to then fall back first to 20 and today even below this threshold again. 

It doesn’t seem that BTCUSD currently has the strength to move independently, so it is likely to remain at the mercy of the VIX for a while longer. 

Adoption

Despite Bitcoin’s price currently being at -48% from the all-time highs of October, and -34% from the average of the last 365 days, its adoption continues to grow. 

A recent analysis by River has revealed that the top 29 financial advisory firms in the world, which collectively manage over $146 trillion in assets, share a common interest in investments in Bitcoin. 

The one with the most Bitcoin is Cresser, with over 3,200 BTC (more than 200 million dollars), but there are also two other companies, LPL and Mariner, that hold more than 3,000 BTC. LPL Financial is also the leader among the 29 companies by AUM. 

Additionally, there are three more entities holding over 1,000 BTC, and only four out of 29 hold less than 100. 

This apparent discrepancy, however, has an explanation. 

However, it is necessary to distinguish between short or medium-term trends and long-term ones. 

What is growing year after year is precisely the adoption as a form of long-term investment, because instead, in the short or medium term, there is still a marked decline. 

River also reveals that over the twelve months of 2025, institutions have added approximately 829,000 BTC to their reserves, and that over the past two years, financial advisory firms have invested an average of nearly $1.5 billion per quarter in Bitcoin ETFs. 

Therefore, it is only seemingly an anomaly, which completely disappears when the two different phenomena are correctly framed within their respective time scales. 

The Gold Issue

There is indeed a specific issue that suggests it is possible for the price of Bitcoin to eventually rise again. 

Starting from the early months of 2024, a significant bullrun in the price of gold began and is still ongoing. 

This is a bullrun likely driven primarily by international geopolitical issues and the spread of a certain fear in the markets regarding long-term developments. 

Between October and November 2025, during what turned out to be the longest government shutdown in the entire history of the USA, there was a minor liquidity crisis caused by the shutdown itself, which initially ended the Bitcoin bullrun, and subsequently triggered its decline. 

Initially, gold also declined, but starting from November 5th, it began to rise again, just as Bitcoin was still falling. 

The rise of gold further accelerated starting from early January, leading to the creation of a mini-bubble of euphoria that burst at the end of the month. 

Since then, the bullrun appears to have resumed, but with less intensity. 

The Bitcoin Rebound

At this point, it would theoretically be reasonable, among the various hypotheses that can be made, to envision a possible end to the gold bullrun in the coming months. 

At the core of this bullrun is indeed the market’s fear of long-term developments, particularly regarding geopolitical issues. This fear has a greater impact on higher-risk assets, namely the so-called “growth” assets like Bitcoin, while the impact on lower-risk assets, the “value” ones, has been less significant. 

If fear were to dissipate, it could simultaneously halt the bullrun of gold and trigger a rebound in growth assets, consequently leading to a rebound in the price of Bitcoin. 

Although this is currently a purely hypothetical scenario, in the coming weeks or months, more confirmations could arrive to support it.