Bernstein Sees a Potential Structural Bitcoin Bull Market as Institutional Buying Builds

Bernstein analysts said in a recent report that crypto market fundamentals continue to strengthen, arguing that Bitcoin's pullback to around $60,000 marked a clear bottom. With prices now moving toward $80,000 on rising institutional demand, they see conditions forming for a longer-term, structural bull run. Analyst Gautam Chhugani pointed to several drivers: • Institutional access is broadening: Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF and Charles Schwab's spot Bitcoin/Ethereum trading platform have launched. Roughly 60% of Bitcoin supply has not moved in more than a year, suggesting a more stable holder base. • Strategic accumulation: The STRC perpetual preferred stock product has drawn income-focused investors, with current holdings totaling 818,334 Bitcoin. • Stablecoin demand at record levels: Total stablecoin supply has exceeded $300 billion and appears increasingly decoupled from crypto market cycles, reflecting sustained growth in real-world payment and settlement use. • Tokenized real-world assets are scaling faster: The total value of tokenized assets, including private credit and government bonds, has reached $345 billion, up 110% year over year. Bernstein added that quantum computing remains a long-term risk factor, but expects the blockchain ecosystem will have sufficient time to migrate toward post-quantum security.