Bitcoin is "Under-Owned" Among Institutional Investors says Dan Morehead

The CEO and founder of Pantera Capital, Dan Morehead, recently told media that bitcoin is “under-owned” by institutional investors despite high demand for cryptocurrency exposure. Mr. Morehead also predicted bitcoin to produce bullish price movements in coming weeks.

Also Read: Markets Update: Cryptocurrencies Start Forming a Well Defined Uptrend

Pantera Bullish on Bitcoin

In a recent interview with CNBC, the Pantera Capital founder appeared unfazed by the recent crash in the cryptocurrency markets, stating “We’re certainly aware it’s a very speculative market,” adding, “It’s volatile on the upside. It can be volatile on the downside.”

Mr. Morehead predicts that the price of bitcoin will begin to recover in coming weeks, stating, “Typically, [bitcoin] has had on average a 71-day bear market, and we’re 52 days into this. It seems like another couple of weeks and everything will be normal and [bitcoin] can start growing back up again.” Mr. Morehead also noted that “We’ve had a 64% fall from its peak to the trough a couple of days ago, and that’s actually exactly the average decline in the bitcoin markets over the last seven bear market cycles.”

Pantera Capital was founded in 2003 and launched its first cryptocurrency fund a decade later. Pantera Capital is invested in a number of leading cryptocurrency ventures, including Bitstamp, Korbit, Xapo, and Bitpesa.

Institutional Crypto Exposure Low Despite High Demand

Pantera Capital’s CEO indicated that despite widespread demand for cryptocurrency exposure, bitcoin is “under-owned” by institutional investors, hinting that demand from big players may push prices up soon.

“There’s such an institutional appetite to get exposure to this,” said Morehead, “It’s a half-a-trillion-dollar asset class that nobody owns. That’s a pretty wild circumstance,” said Mr. Morehead.

Mr. Morehead attributed bitcoin’s wild price action to the lack of institutional investment in the cryptocurrency economy, stating “bitcoin is that still so under-owned by institutional investors that it trades at its own beat.”

Morehead Welcomes Cryptocurrency Regulations

When asked of his opinion of the increasing regulation of the cryptocurrency sphere, Mr. Morehead stated, “It’s a good thing, I think the U.S. regulatory bodies have done an excellent job […] the [Commodities Futures Trading Commission] has been very progressive about this… the [Securities and Exchange Commission] has […] in general allowed the markets to develop.”

The Pantera CEO also noted that the “pace” of regulation has “so far has been very good,” concluding that “A little more regulation is probably helpful.”

Do you think that bitcoin is likely to recover in coming weeks? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Pantera Capital, Wikipedia

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.