Cosmo Jiang, general partner at Pantera Capital, said that investors who haven’t yet joined the cryptocurrency market still have an opportunity, noting that the majority of people don’t hold any digital assets.
Bitcoin recently surged past $126,000, setting a new all-time high. Yet, speaking on Monday’s episode of CNBC’s Fast Money, Jiang pointed out that most investors remain hesitant, with no exposure to crypto.
“A Bank of America survey from a few weeks ago found that over 60% of investors still have 0% exposure to digital assets,” he said.
“That’s quite a lot. And so the idea that digital assets, it’s too late in the game, isn’t true if most people don’t own it.”
Crypto ownership still has significant room to grow
The National Cryptocurrency Association’s (NCA) 2025 State of Crypto report, released in May, found that only 21% of American adults—about one in five—own some form of cryptocurrency.
Globally, the United Arab Emirates leads in crypto adoption, though just 25.3% of its population holds any, according to a September report from ApeX Protocol.
Tom Bruni, head of markets at Stocktwits, told in September that Bitcoin’s steadily rising price may be deterring some investors, who feel they’ve already missed the opportunity.
Bitcoin gains legitimacy; altcoins ready for the spotlight
Jiang noted that while the market still has a long runway for growth, Pantera sees the past few years as a period focused on “legitimizing Bitcoin.” Now that awareness and understanding have grown, he said it’s time for altcoins to step into the spotlight.
“The next step—and what recent congressional legislation is enabling—is for other digital assets to truly have their place: Ethereum, Solana,” he said.
“These things are large tech platforms that are now growing at a rapid pace. And we believe Solana is on pace to be what could be the next generation mega-cap tech company.”
U.S. crypto legislation progresses
In July, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, aiming to regulate stablecoins, though final regulations are still pending. Meanwhile, the U.S. crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, remains under development and is expected to reach Trump’s desk by year-end.
Digital assets continue to gain traction
Despite some investors remaining on the sidelines, Jiang noted that Bitcoin continues to see strong flows from profit-takers to new buyers, driven by “overwhelming demand” in exchange-traded funds.
“This year is all about so many headwinds turning into tailwinds for crypto, particularly as equity investors begin embracing digital assets in a significant way,” he said.
“We’ve seen the flows really start to pour in. From the ETF perspective, the ETF inflows to the Bitcoin ETFs have now exceeded the amount that’s coming to the Nasdaq since launch, which is pretty crazy to think about.”
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $3.24 billion last week, nearly matching their record week in November 2024.
