Coinbase Executive Says Institutions Are Accumulating Bitcoin Through the Sell-Off

Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 on Monday for the first time since October 2024, reaching as low as $59,099 and falling more than 50% from its all-time high near $126,000.

John D’Agostino, Coinbase’s head of institutional strategy, said the decline is being viewed as a buying opportunity by some of the market’s most sophisticated investors.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, D’Agostino said institutional clients are treating the pullback as a chance to accumulate Bitcoin at lower prices rather than as a signal to exit.

D’Agostino said family offices in the United Arab Emirates, along with government and sovereign wealth funds seeking exposure to the asset class, are comfortable buying Bitcoin at a discount.

His comments are consistent with recent data showing continued institutional accumulation despite the downturn.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund with $330 billion in assets, reported holding 14.7 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of March 31, 2026. That represented a 16% quarter-over-quarter increase and marked four straight quarters of accumulation, even as Bitcoin fell roughly 40% from its record high.

Bitcoin ETF Exposure Holds Near $100 Billion

Despite Bitcoin’s sharp correction, D’Agostino pointed to the roughly $100 billion still held in Bitcoin ETF exposure as evidence of persistent demand.

“The price has dropped almost 50% from the peak, and we’ve only seen about a 15% drawdown in retail interest,” D’Agostino said. “So I think both retail and institutional are signaling this is a long-term asset you want to hold.”

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone held about $51.9 billion in assets under management earlier this year, accounting for roughly 45% of all spot Bitcoin ETF assets.

What Drove the Pullback

When asked about the forces behind Bitcoin’s downturn, D’Agostino largely agreed with several factors raised by the Squawk Box host, including risk-off sentiment, elevated interest rates, unresolved crypto regulation, and Strategy’s Michael Saylor reversing his long-standing “never sell” position by selling part of the company’s Bitcoin holdings.

Strategy sold 32 bitcoins between May 26 and May 31 for approximately $2.5 million, a small amount relative to its holdings of more than 843,000 BTC but large enough to weigh on sentiment. The sale helped push Bitcoin below $72,000 before the broader decline continued.

D’Agostino also cited macro pressures tied to a 100-day war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as headwinds for risk assets. He noted, however, that crude oil remained surprisingly subdued below $100 a barrel, showing that market reactions in complex geopolitical environments do not always follow simple expectations.

On regulation, D’Agostino pointed to legislation moving through Congress that he said could strengthen the institutional framework for Bitcoin and digital assets. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026, with a 15-9 vote, becoming the first comprehensive crypto regulatory framework to reach the Senate floor.

A separate tax-focused bill, the PARITY Act, is also advancing with bipartisan support.

Institutional Investors Show Little Panic

When asked whether leveraged holders could face margin calls or forced liquidations at lower prices, D’Agostino said he was not aware of major institutions carrying excessive leverage near current levels. He said the greater risk lies with retail traders using high leverage on offshore exchanges.

“On the institutional side, I’m not seeing folks panicking at this point,” D’Agostino said. “I’m seeing them thinking about what the cheapest way is for them to acquire new capital to buy into an asset that they loved at $125K, they liked at $100K, and they love even more at $65K.”

Strategy appeared to reinforce that view Monday, disclosing that it purchased an additional 1,550 BTC for $101 million, or about $65,000 per coin, just days after selling 32 bitcoins at $77,135 each.

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