Retail investors are running out of time to accumulate Bitcoin as institutional adoption accelerates, according to Sergej Kunz, co-founder of exchange aggregator 1inch. <\/p>\n
Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) is evolving into an alternative reserve currency, propelling institutional demand and potentially pricing out retail investors, Kunz said during Cointelegraph’s LONGITUDE event in Dubai.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Every retail user should be thinking about getting at least one Bitcoin \u2014 very soon they won\u2019t be able to afford it,\u201d Kunz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the United States starts buying Bitcoin for a strategic reserve, even smaller countries may soon struggle to acquire the cryptocurrency, he added. “I\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019ll soon see countries battling over who owns more Bitcoin. The US will start.\u201d<\/p>\n Bitcoin demand has accelerated since US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on US imports in April, setting off a global trade war. <\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing that still acts as a true hedge \u2014 across borders, against inflation \u2014 is Bitcoin,\u201d Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu said during the panel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yat Siu and Sergej Kunz at Cointelegraph’s LONGITUDE. Source: Cointelegraph<\/em><\/p>\n Related:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>US President Donald Trump issues 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n During the week of April 21-25, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted more than $3 billion in inflows<\/a> as institutions sought safety in \u201cdigital gold\u201d amid mounting macroeconomic uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Analysts say demand from financial institutions could push Bitcoin\u2019s price as high as $200,000<\/a> per coin this year. By 2029, institutional Bitcoin adoption could propel the cryptocurrency\u2019s price<\/a> past $1 million, Bitwise\u2019s head of European research, Andr\u00e9 Dragosch, said.<\/p>\n Asset managers still prefer gold for hedging against macro risk. Source:\u00a0<\/em>Binance Research<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n For Bitcoin, \u201c[t]he silver lining is that economic uncertainty has historically accelerated institutional interest in digital assets as a diversification strategy,\u201d David Siemer, co-founder and CEO of Wave Digital Assets, told Cointelegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n As of May 1, Bitcoin ETFs and other institutional funds hold upward of $128 billion worth of BTC, according to data<\/a> from BitcoinTreasuries.NET. Corporate treasuries hold another roughly $73 billion, the data shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sovereign states \u2014 including the US, China, and the United Kingdom \u2014 collectively hold more than $130 billion worth of BTC. However, much of those holdings are from crypto assets seized by law enforcement, not outright Bitcoin buys.\u00a0<\/p>\nGlobal reserve asset?<\/h2>\n