A report published by Coinbase Institutional and Glassnode on October 20, 2025 reveals that the majority of investors believe that the Bitcoin bull market will continue for the next 3 to 6 months. The researchers surveyed institutional investors and put together a crypto market outlook based on their responses. The report’s subtitle, “Navigating Uncertainty,” resonates with Bitcoin’s recent nosedive following a new all-time high.
Summary
- Researchers at Coinbase, institutional and financial consulting firm Glassnode, surveyed 124 investors between September 17 and October 3, 2025. 67% of institutional inventors and 62% of independent inventors are bullish on Bitcoin over the next 3 to 6 months.
- Nearly half of the institutions surveyed (45%) believe the bull market is in its final stages. Only 27% of independent respondents share this position. Both categories named the macro environment as the biggest risk for the next 3 to 6 months.
- 39% and 40% of institutional and independent investors surveyed believe that Bitcoin dominance will remain at the 55-60% level in the next 3 to 6 months.
He report begins with a foreword by David Duong, head of research at Coinbase Institutional, who expects favorable macroeconomic, regulatory and political conditions. He believes that digital asset treasury companies will continue to amplify demand for cryptocurrencies; Further rate cuts by the end of the year could help mobilize $7 trillion in idle funds.
Duong also outlines several challenges, including the government shutdown, which limits access to key economic data, and the uncertain long-term viability of the DAT business model. The survey data is complemented by the authors’ market knowledge.
According to the report, the researchers have a “cautiously optimistic” stance on the fourth quarter of 2025. They consider current market conditions to be especially good for Bitcoin.
Discrepancies between institutional and independent investors
When researchers surveyed 61 institutions and 63 independent investors, the results highlight the differences between their views on market trends.
First, while both categories are bullish on Bitcoin, the majority of institutional respondents believe that the current stage of the bull market is final. Independent investors rather think that we are in the accumulation or margin stage.
Another slight discrepancy is the opinion on large-cap altcoins. While 38% of institutions surveyed believe that altcoins will perform the best in the next 3 to 6 months, only 29% of independent investors share this opinion.
Independents are more optimistic about DATs, with 14% compared to 8% for institutions. Notably, the proportion of institutional respondents who believe Bitcoin will be the worst-performing asset matches the proportion who believe DATs will be the best-performing (8% each), although the report does not indicate whether these are the same respondents.
15% of independent investors see Bitcoin as the potentially worst-performing crypto asset for the remainder of 2025. 60% of institutions see small-cap altcoins as the worst asset, while only 42% of independent investors share the same stance.
Both categories cite a worsening macroeconomic environment as the biggest risk (institutions 38%, independents 29%). Geopolitical risks, hacks and regulatory failures alarm both groups equally. Institutions seem less concerned than independents about liquidity declines and potential DAT failures.
Shared beliefs
Both groups generally believe that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of single-name spot crypto ETFs will serve as a market driver. Independents are somewhat more optimistic about the positive impact of ETF approvals. Only 13% to 14% of respondents in both groups do not expect any impact from SEC approvals.
The survey indicates that both groups consider reserve token burning and development spending to be the top two priorities for crypto companies with significant token hoards.
Both independents and institutions called DATs “the most traded cryptocurrency” right now (although technically, DAT shares are not cryptocurrencies). Independents see Bitcoin as equally “saturated,” while institutions see Solana second only to DATs.
An emerging trends section
The second half of the report is the review of new market trends and the study of Bitcoin and Ethereum trends. This section above clearly shows that summer 2025 saw a drastic increase in DATs holding ETH and SOL. Before, the Bitcoin holding companies were the only rulers.
Regarding market dominance, researchers described a 7% decline in Bitcoin dominance in the third quarter (before increasing in September), while ETH dominance grew by 4%. The data on the growth of Bitcoin and ETH spot ETFs reflects the horizontal growth of ETH ETFs from July to September 2025. Lately, their growth has been more unstable. The growth of Bitcoin ETFs has been more gradual and steady.
In August, ETH ETF inflows outpaced Bitcoin ETF inflows by 10x, sparking debate over whether ETH has the potential to change Bitcoin.
Bitcoin and Ether 4-year cycle charts show that the current cycle (started in 2022) is different. It lacks major rallies and rather presents gradual increases and declines. In this cycle, Ether notably lacked the rallies it had in previous cycles. Instead, it had a long-term decline.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Trends
As for Bitcoin trends, the past few months showed that even when the price of Bitcoin was reaching new highs, long-term investors preferred not to withdraw money. It set a new trend. Sentiment gradually moved from belief to anxiety in the first half of 2025 and then retreated again in the third quarter.
The Ethereum trends section emphasizes that, for the first time, Ether ETF inflows ($9.4 billion) exceeded BTC ETF inflows ($8 billion). According to the report, the correlation between liquid and illiquid ETH holdings in the third quarter indicates that many long-term ETH investors preferred to withdraw money as soon as ETH experienced a rally. ETH and other L2 blockchains saw record transaction volume, while fees were the lowest in 2 years.
