Coinbase Chief Strategy Officer: Institutional Investment Enthusiasm Continues to Rise, the Potential of DeFi and Stablecoin Markets is Huge

At the recently held CryptoAI Summit 2025, John D’Agostino, the Strategic Director of Institutional Business at a well-known cryptocurrency exchange platform, shared his unique insights on the cryptocurrency market, institutional investment, and the future development of blockchain technology. As an important participant in the institutionalization process of crypto assets, he provided profound insights into the evolution of Bitcoin’s role, institutional-level adoption, Decentralized Finance, and the stablecoin sector.

D’Agostino has served on the boards of several large hedge funds, venture capital funds, and in 2019 co-founded the Association for Alternative Investment Management (AIMA) Digital Assets Working Group. His career also includes serving as Chair of the UK Royal Asset Management Task Force, an AIF Global Pension Network Financial Innovation Fellow, and a (CSAIL) Fellow at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Prior to that, he led the establishment of the first energy derivatives exchange in the Middle East as Director of Strategy at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

! Coinbase Strategy Director: Institutional Interest Never Stops, DeFi and Stablecoins Are Bound to Explode

Bitcoin’s decoupling from tech stocks

The day before the summit, the price of bitcoin returned to the $100,000 mark, sparking heated discussions in the market about the return of the bull market. When asked about his thoughts on this market sentiment, D’Agostino said: "Bitcoin has reached $100,000 before, and these key numbers are really psychologically important to attract more public attention. I remember when crude oil first broke through $100 a barrel, and it was a milestone moment. However, we should not overemphasize a particular price point, and I think it is more interesting to watch the decoupling trend of Bitcoin from tech stocks. For me, this phenomenon is even more fascinating. "

He further explained: “Even if Bitcoin stays at 90,000 instead of 100,000, if it has already shown a decoupling trend from other assets in April and May, I would still be satisfied as an investor—especially when my investment goal is to improve the Sharpe ratio and upside capture of my portfolio. In terms of both correlation with other assets and absolute performance, Bitcoin is operating as expected.”

The Ten-Year “Silent Accumulation” of Institutional Investors

Since the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF, institutional investors’ interest in Bitcoin has clearly increased. Data shows that as of May 15, the total inflow of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF reached $343.47 million, maintaining a net inflow of funds for five consecutive weeks.

Regarding institutional investment trends, D’Agostino pointed out: “Even during periods of Bitcoin decline and low market attention, institutional interest has never ceased to grow. When we talk about institutions, we are often referring to professional investment entities such as hedge funds and asset management companies. Their responsibility is to seek new ways to profit and sources of alpha returns, and they are tasked with paying attention to emerging asset classes that may generate excess returns. Over the past decade, their interest in crypto assets has been quietly growing, and this growth has been inherently slow and steady.”

"Institutional investors particularly appreciate Bitcoin’s low correlation with other asset classes, and they also welcome market volatility – which may be unsettling for retail investors, but institutions actually love it. They prefer assets that provide protection when the market falls, are volatile enough to support their trading strategy, and can profit when the overall market rises. Bitcoin has exactly these characteristics. "

"Because institutional investors typically trade more volumes, more frequently, and face more regulatory reporting requirements, they need an institutionalized, compliant market environment. We already have such a market. A trading platform has been operating in a compliant manner for 10 years. Recent changes in the attitude of the U.S. government and regulators towards crypto assets have given institutional investors more confidence to trade on compliant platforms without having to worry about regulatory issues. This is a relatively recent development. So it’s natural for us to see more institutional interest, but it’s important to emphasize that this interest has never been interrupted. "

Governments and sovereign funds will join the investment wave

New Hampshire, which has become the first state in the U.S. to pass a “strategic bitcoin reserve” bill, also noted the growing involvement of government agencies: "Many state governments, national and sovereign wealth funds are actually investing in crypto assets, even if they don’t announce it publicly. "

“Frankly, the only thing that stands in the way of this process is the change of leadership,” he said. With new leaders who are more open-minded, more tech-savvy, and more willing to learn and innovate… As long as they take the time to listen and understand the technology, the way forward is fairly clear. We will see an increasing number of state, national, and government-backed entities, such as sovereign wealth funds, not only researching and buying crypto assets, but also being willing to publicly admit that they do hold such assets. It’s just a matter of time. "

The Synergistic Development of DeFi and Stablecoins

D’Agostino expressed optimism about the prospects of decentralized finance ( DeFi ) and stablecoins, believing that the two complement each other, and the rapid expansion of DeFi is inseparable from the support of stablecoins.

"I believe that in the future, centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) will continue to coexist and develop, but there is no doubt that this is an excellent time for both DeFi and stablecoins. The two form the perfect partnership – DeFi needs a stable, scalable transaction layer, and stablecoins are perfect for that. Stablecoins act like a lubricant for DeFi applications, enabling a wide range of applications, from derivatives to cross-border payments, to scale rapidly. "

He predicts exponential growth in stablecoin-based DeFi applications – especially in cross-border payments and derivatives – over the next 1-3 years: “While the ‘trillions of dollars in stablecoin volume’ predictions may be a bit aggressive, there is no doubt that this market will be much larger than it is today.” "

Focus on long-term value rather than short-term price

When asked for his thoughts on Bitcoin’s future movements, D’Agostino said that the core function of a trading platform is not to predict the market, but to provide a reliable price discovery mechanism. He mentioned that the psychological impact of the integer threshold ( such as $90,000 or $100,000 ) certainly exists, but what is more noteworthy is the change in the correlation between Bitcoin and traditional assets ( especially technology stocks ). “If Bitcoin can maintain a low correlation, even if the price stays at a certain level temporarily, it will still have significant value for optimizing the portfolio.”

D’Agostino’s sharing reassures investors that the crypto market is gradually shifting from retail dominance to institutionalization, and that we may be at the tipping point of a new round of qualitative change in the industry as compliance frameworks become more sophisticated, sovereign wealth funds are quietly deployed, and DeFi infrastructure continues to evolve.