According to foreign media reports, Bernstein's latest view is that Bitcoin's weak performance this year is partly due to a significant shift of retail funds towards AI stocks. However, the firm believes that the current cooling of trading does not mean Bitcoin has lost long-term support; rather, it indicates that the market structure is becoming more institutionalized.
ETF and corporate buying slows
In a study released Monday, Bernstein noted a significant decline in new funds flowing into Bitcoin this year. Net inflows from spot ETFs and corporate treasury buyers totaled approximately $12 billion, well below the estimated $60 billion for the entire year of 2025.
Among them, Bitcoin ETFs, with total assets of approximately $75 billion, recorded a net outflow of about $2.6 billion this year. The report believes that the slowdown in funding is one of the important reasons for the pressure on Bitcoin this year.
- Net inflows into ETFs and corporate investments totaled approximately $12 billion this year.
- The net inflow of related funds in 2025 is estimated at approximately US$60 billion.
- Bitcoin ETFs have seen net outflows of approximately $2.6 billion this year.
Retail investors turn to AI stocks
Bernstein believes that in this cycle, global investors are more focused on the stock and commodity markets, and retail investors' risk appetite is also more concentrated on AI-related stocks than Bitcoin. The firm says this has made Bitcoin seem "less eye-catching" this year.
The report also mentioned that some Bitcoin mining companies are shifting towards AI data center businesses. IREN and Cipher Digital were cited as relevant examples, and this transformation has driven significant increases in the stock prices of some companies.
Strategy continues to increase its holdings.
Despite weak market sentiment, corporate buying has not completely disappeared. The report mentions that Strategy has continued to increase its Bitcoin holdings this year. The company raised approximately $7.5 billion through its preferred stock instrument, STRC, and used the funds to purchase approximately 100,000 Bitcoins.
According to the data in the article, Strategy currently holds more than 845,000 Bitcoins, worth approximately $53.6 billion. Bernstein believes that this continued allocation indicates that institutional funds have not exited the market.
The target of $150,000 remains unchanged.
As of the time of this report, Bitcoin was trading above $63,000, down about half from its October high and down approximately 27% since the beginning of 2026. Even so, Bernstein maintains its year-end target of $150,000 for Bitcoin.
The organization believes that criticism of Bitcoin's "lack of retail investor enthusiasm" has been amplified. Their core argument is that the retreat of retail investors may not be a bad thing, as it could indicate that Bitcoin is entering a phase of lower volatility and higher institutional participation.
