Author: Bitpush BitpushNews Mary Liu
At the CryptoAI Summit 2025 hosted by Bitpush, we exclusively interviewed John D'Agostino, Strategic Director of Coinbase Institutional. As an important participant in the institutionalization process of crypto, John shared his insights into the evolving role of Bitcoin, institutional crypto adoption, DeFi, and stablecoins.
Guest Profile
John D'Agostino is the Strategic Director of Coinbase Institutional, serving on the boards of several large hedge funds, venture capital funds, public companies, and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).
In 2019, John co-founded the AIMA Digital Assets Working Group. In 2021, he was appointed by the British Consulate in New York as the Chair of the UK Royal Asset Management Working Group. In 2022, John was appointed as a Financial Innovation Researcher for the AIF Global Pension Network, and in 2024, he was appointed as a researcher at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
As the former Strategic Director of the New York Mercantile Exchange, John led the establishment of the first Middle Eastern energy derivatives exchange in collaboration with the Dubai government, making him the protagonist of two New York Times bestsellers (《Rigged》 and 《Start Up Of You》).
"Bitcoin Has Decoupled from Broader Tech Stocks"
The day before the summit, BTC returned to $100,000 after months, sparking discussions about the return of a "bull market".
When asked about his view on this market sentiment, John D'Agostino stated: "BTC has reached $100,000 before, and these numbers are psychologically very important. They can draw more public attention to such assets. I remember when oil first broke $100 per barrel, it was a significant moment. However, we shouldn't overemphasize a specific number. I think what's more interesting is that as we see this price trend, Bitcoin has decoupled from broader tech stocks."
John told Bitpush: "Suppose Bitcoin is at $90,000 today instead of $100,000, but it had already decoupled this way in April and early May, I would still be happy as an investor—if I bought it to improve my portfolio's Sharpe ratio and upside capture rate (which we call the Sortino ratio). Whether from its economic relationship with other assets or absolute performance, Bitcoin is operating in the way people expect."
Institutional Whales: A Decade-Long "Quiet Accumulation"
Since the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, more institutional investors have begun positioning in Bitcoin. According to SoSoValue data, as of May 15, the total inflow of US spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $343.47 million, continuing the five-week inflow momentum since mid-April.
John D'Agostino told Bitpush: "Even during periods when Bitcoin was declining and people were less focused on it, we never stopped seeing institutional interest growth. When we talk about institutions, many refer to hedge funds and asset management companies. These entities' responsibility is to find new ways to make money and new alpha sources. They are obligated to pay attention to new asset classes that might generate alpha. So for ten years, their interest has been quietly growing, never stopping. Essentially, this growth has been slow and steady."
John explained: "They really like assets with low correlation to other asset classes, and they like volatility—which might scare away some retail investors, but institutions like this volatility. They like assets that provide protection during downturns, have enough volatility for trading, and can also profit when broader assets rise. So Bitcoin possesses all these characteristics."
"Now, because institutions typically trade larger volumes more frequently and have more reporting requirements... they need institutionalized markets, compliant markets. We now have such markets. Coinbase has been operating compliantly for ten years. But recently in the US, the government and regulators' approach to these assets has changed, giving institutions more confidence to trade on compliant platforms without worrying about regulatory issues. This is a relatively new change. So I naturally think we're seeing more institutional interest, but this interest has never stopped."
Governments and Sovereign Wealth Funds About to Join the Wave
Bitpush previously reported that New Hampshire became the first US state to pass a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" bill. John also mentioned the growing participation of government agencies. He said: "Many states, countries, and sovereign wealth funds are already investing, even if they haven't publicly announced it."
He told Bitpush: "Frankly, I think the only thing hindering this process is leadership changes. As new leaders are elected—those more open, more willing to understand technology, more willing to learn about this innovation... as long as they take time to listen to constituents and understand the technology, our future direction is quite clear. You'll see more and more states, countries, and government-backed entities like sovereign wealth funds not just researching and buying it, but willing to acknowledge that they indeed hold such assets. It's just a matter of time."
DeFi and Stablecoins: "Perfect Partners"
John is very optimistic about the development of DeFi and stablecoins, believing that DeFi's rapid expansion is inseparable from stablecoin support.
He said: "I think centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) will continue to increase, but undoubtedly, now is a good time for decentralized finance (DeFi), and an exciting moment for stablecoins. These two complement each other. DeFi needs a stable, scalable trading layer—and stablecoins perfectly meet this demand. Stablecoins are like lubricants for DeFi applications, enabling rapid expansion of various applications from derivatives to cross-border payments."
John believes that in the next 1-3 years, DeFi applications based on stablecoins—especially in cross-border payments and derivatives—will experience exponential growth. He told Bitpush: "While predictions of 'trillions of dollars in stablecoin transactions' might be aggressive, there's no doubt the market's scale will far exceed the current size."
"Not Concerned with Short-Term Prices, Bitcoin's Portfolio Optimization Remains Significant"
When asked about his view on Bitcoin's future trend, John stated that exchanges' core function is not to predict markets, but to provide reliable price discovery mechanisms. He mentioned that while psychological impacts of round numbers (like $90,000 or $100,000) exist, what's more worth noting is Bitcoin's changing correlation with traditional assets, especially tech stocks. "If Bitcoin maintains low correlation, even if its price temporarily stays at a certain point, its portfolio optimization effect remains significant."
John's sharing further confirms for investors that the crypto market is transitioning from retail-dominated to institutionalized. As compliance frameworks become more robust, as sovereign funds quietly position themselves, and as DeFi infrastructure continues to evolve, we may be standing at the threshold of a new industry transformation.
