In 2025, Bitcoin hit a new record high again, and this time the bull market is no longer driven by retail investors, but a structural market driven by the traditional capital market. Jason, an analyst at StarEx Exchange, believes that ETF fund inflows, corporate treasury allocations, passive holdings of mainstream indexes, and the maturity of the regulatory framework are all forming a clear trend signal: crypto assets have been incorporated into the core structure of the global capital system, and the foundation of a new round of bull market has been formed.
ETF inflows: the “institutional engine” of the bull market
Since the US SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024, traditional financial institutions have officially opened the door to compliant investment in Bitcoin. Over the past six months, ETFs have continued to receive net inflows, with more than $5.2 billion in May alone. Since mid-June, Bitcoin ETFs have seen net inflows for 11 consecutive trading days, forming an obvious positive feedback chain: ETF purchases drive up prices, price increases bring market confidence, and increased confidence attracts more funds to enter the market.
Unlike retail investors, the funds behind ETFs are more long-term and stable, and the scale of funds is far beyond the native crypto circle. More importantly, ETFs allow traditional capital accounts such as 401(k), pensions, and family offices to legally and compliantly allocate Bitcoin for the first time. This makes Bitcoin included in the asset pool of mainstream financial asset allocation for the first time, moving from a "marginal alternative asset" to a "strategic allocation target."
Corporate Treasury Enters the Market: Bitcoin Becomes the New Generation of “Digital Gold”
The trend of corporate treasury allocation of Bitcoin has emerged simultaneously with ETF funds. MicroStrategy has continued to increase its holdings in this round of market, and currently holds nearly 600,000 Bitcoins, becoming the largest single institutional holder of Bitcoin. Metaplanet, a Japanese listed company, has also purchased Bitcoin several times this year, indicating that companies in the Asian market are also following similar strategies.
At the same time, major US Bitcoin mining companies, such as Marathon, Riot, Hut 8, etc., have also adopted the dual strategy of "mining + holding coins", treating Bitcoin as a "strategic reserve" on their own balance sheets. More and more companies are no longer just making money through encrypted products, but are treating Bitcoin itself as a long-term storage asset against inflation.
This trend makes Bitcoin not just "bought", but incorporated into the capital decision-making system of mainstream corporate governance structure. Bitcoin is gradually becoming a "gold-like" option in corporate financial allocation.
Index Fund Passive Holdings: Bitcoin Enters Traditional Asset Portfolio
In addition to ETFs directly buying Bitcoin, traditional index funds are also "passively holding Bitcoin exposure." For example, as MicroStrategy's stock price closely follows the trend of Bitcoin, more and more S&P 500 and Nasdaq tracking funds are passively increasing their holdings of its stocks, which actually becomes a channel for "indirectly allocating Bitcoin."
Jason, an analyst at StarEx Exchange, believes that the effect of this phenomenon is that the traditional capital market is unconsciously expanding its indirect exposure to Bitcoin. In other words, even if a fund does not explicitly say that it is "investing in Bitcoin", it has already "passively boarded the train" in the process of tracking the Nasdaq and allocating technology stocks.
This makes it the first time that Bitcoin is subtly integrated into the daily asset portfolio of traditional investors through the triple path of "company equity + ETF + sector trends".
Macroeconomic policy coordination: The Federal Reserve and fiscal deficits create the "Bitcoin valuation bottom"
In 2025, the Federal Reserve is facing the dual pressures of economic slowdown and high fiscal deficits, and the signal of turning to easing is becoming increasingly obvious. The US deficit has exceeded 1.7 trillion US dollars, and real interest rates have fallen again, causing investors to seek scarce assets for risk hedging again.
Jason, an analyst at StarEx Exchange, believes that in this context, gold and Bitcoin form a "double anchor" pattern. In particular, Bitcoin has a fixed total amount, no credit risk, and can be freely transferred around the world, making it more suitable as a value storage tool in an environment of high inflation + currency depreciation. The macro background of rising risks related to legal currencies has precisely strengthened the financial attributes and valuation logic of Bitcoin.
Improved regulatory clarity: Eliminating institutional concerns and clearing configuration barriers
In the past few years, the biggest problem that has hindered institutional entry has been regulatory uncertainty. Now, this obstacle is disappearing rapidly. The US SEC has defaulted to Bitcoin and Ethereum as "commodities" rather than securities, avoiding many compliance risks. Several Bitcoin ETFs have been approved for listing and trading, and platforms such as Coinbase and Grayscale have also obtained licenses for compliant operations.
Internationally, countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Germany have established clear standards for the taxation and accounting treatment of crypto assets. Companies can legally include Bitcoin in their financial statements and even enjoy related tax exemptions.
StarEx exchange analyst Jason believes that the essence of this series of regulatory developments is that institutions are no longer afraid of "policy black swans" and can boldly incorporate crypto assets into the asset allocation system, thereby releasing huge amounts of funds to enter the market.
The structure of this round of market is completely different from the past. In 2017, it was the ICO bubble; in 2021, it was DeFi, NFT and retail investors’ hot money;
In 2025, the bull market will be dominated by structural funds, driven by ETFs, corporate treasury, index funds, macro policies and regulatory frameworks.
This is the first time that the cryptocurrency market has been truly “structurally recognized” by the global capital market. Jason, an analyst at StarEx Exchange, believes that this is not a bull market within the cryptocurrency market, but a “digital asset revaluation cycle” led by the external capital market. And this cycle has just begun.
