Bitcoin Price Holds $84K–$87K as Bitwise Says Institutions Treat BTC Like Gold but Invest Like Tech Stocks

Large institutional investors increasingly describe Bitcoin (BTC) as a digital counterpart to gold, yet they still place it inside the same portfolio sleeve they use for technology and other crypto-assets.

That contradiction sits at the center of a new Bitwise research study based on interviews with senior allocators at 15 major institutions, including pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, consultants, and public companies.

The conversations, conducted in March and April 2026 when bitcoin traded near $75,000, showed a consistent pattern.

Every institution that held crypto owned bitcoin.

For nearly all of them it was the first, largest, and longest-held digital asset.

Many framed it as a store of value with asymmetric upside and said they often pair it with gold as a hedge against currency debasement.

At the same time, they continue to group bitcoin with other digital assets rather than treating it as a standalone commodity allocation.

Allocations typically sit between 1% and 2% of investable assets, with a reported range from 0.5% to 13%.

Positions are spread across spot exchange-traded funds, direct holdings, venture investments, and hedge funds.

The same interviews found that none of the 15 institutions cut exposure during the roughly 50% drawdown from late 2025 into the second quarter of 2026. Several added.