Wall Street Takes Control of the Crypto Market with a Historic Record

The digital asset market is evolving rapidly due to the influence of professional investors. A new Wintermute report shows that crypto is entering a new phase, where institutions now occupy a central place in trading. Meanwhile, Wall Street increasingly influences liquidity, prices, and investment strategies. This evolution gradually changes the market structure, reduces volatility, and concentrates capital on a smaller number of assets.

Institutional Investors Redesign the Market Balance

Wintermute’s market maker highlights a major change in market organization. Institutional investors accounted for about 72% of over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading volume in the first half of 2026. This level is a historic record, compared to around 61% in the second half of 2025. This progression illustrates the continuous rise of professional players.

According to its report published on X, this evolution occurs while retail investors remain much less present. Some of them are currently focusing their attention on traditional stock markets. Meanwhile, Wall Street continues to increase its influence on digital asset trading. This dynamic reveals a profound transformation of the market structure rather than just a reaction to price movements.

The report also highlights that institutional investors apply different strategies than retail investors. They favor precise mandates, clearly defined risk limits, and longer investment horizons. This approach helps make the crypto market more stable in its daily operation. Flows therefore head towards the most liquid assets, while speculative moves gradually lose their importance.

Bitcoin Volatility Decreases, Altcoins Become More Selective

Wintermute observes a significant decrease in Bitcoin’s realized volatility over market cycles. It fell from around 70% in previous periods to nearly 45% in the current cycle. This change reflects an environment where decisions rely more on long-term strategies than immediate reactions to BTC price fluctuations.

This transformation directly influences capital distribution. Institutional investors concentrate their operations on a relatively limited number of tokens, while retail investors continue to diversify their positions across more assets. The crypto market is thus evolving towards a market where the main flows focus on a few major assets. This concentration reduces the likelihood of all altcoins rising simultaneously.

According to the report, upcoming upward phases could be much more targeted. Institutional capital favors assets meeting specific liquidity and risk management criteria. Wall Street participates in this selection by directing volumes toward the most followed projects. This phenomenon strengthens a market where only certain cryptocurrencies attract most investments. Crypto thus adopts an operation increasingly close to traditional financial markets.

Derivatives and Tokenization Accelerate the Transformation

Beyond the spot market, Wintermute also notes a strong growth of derivatives. The notional volume of altcoin options transactions on its OTC market multiplied by about 3.4 between the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. This growth mainly comes from yield-seeking rather than simple exposure to price variations.

Contracts for difference, or CFDs, are also gaining ground. Investors now use them on a wider range of cryptocurrencies to implement directional, hedging, or basket strategies. Wall Street contributes to this evolution by promoting risk management tools already widely used in traditional financial markets. This diversification of instruments accompanies the gradual professionalization of the crypto market.

The report also highlights the continuous growth of tokenized physical assets. Their value increased by about 50% in the first half to reach $31 billion. Meanwhile, the average monthly transfer volume more than doubled to $9 billion. Institutions primarily favor tokenized Treasury bonds, money market funds, and private credits, while retail investors remain more present in tokenized equities.

Wall Street thus strengthens its footprint in this expanding segment, while crypto continues its transformation around professional actors and new use cases. Wintermute estimates that retail investors could return in the next bull market. However, the report considers that institutional influence should remain durable. Professionals continue to shape liquidity, prices, Bitcoin, and all categories of altcoins that attract capital, foreshadowing an increasingly structured market around their strategies.