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Bitcoin has rallied above $97,000 and is now quoted at $97,055, ticker data shows on 13 February.

There is an interesting dichotomy between institutional and retail investors in the cryptocurrency space right now, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said in a report to clients on Wednesday, 12 February. On the one hand, institutional investors are the most optimistic about cryptocurrencies in history, while retail investors are in a state of despair. Investment professionals now see cryptocurrencies as an area where institutional capital is being allocated in record amounts via ETFs, Washington has gone from being one of the industry's ‘biggest threats’ to one of its biggest supporters under the Trump administration, and nation-states are likely to adopt the industry further.   For retail investors, however, ‘it's almost like living in an alternate reality’, with Bitwise's own on-chain sentiment score showing what is currently one of the lowest readings ever. The index is in line with other sentiment indicators and the general vibe of ‘crypto-tweeting’, with retail investors feeling saddened as their increased holdings of investment in torrents have underperformed this time around compared to Bitcoin, with only a few exceptions.   Matt Hougan says he's convinced institutions are right, with ETFs and corporates having purchased over 100,000 BTC so far this year, compared to the 18,000 BTC mined. And while the allocation of torrents is ‘stronger than at any time in history’ in the long run, the situation with torrents is more complex, and as the regulatory agenda becomes clearer, the US makes stablecoin a ‘national priority’ and institutional confidence continues to grow, the crypto industry will inevitably push the DeFi apps to the masses, and the impact will be both self-evident and unstoppable.’