Crypto market sentiment hit three-year low amidst bitcoin price crash - Acuiti

London-based research firm Acuiti on Wednesday published a crypto derivatives insight report for the second quarter, which showed that the crypto sentiment index fell from 65% last quarter to 62%. That brings the sentiment index to its lowest level in more than three years.

“The latest reading shows that the extremely positive momentum that characterised last year and the start of this year has faded,” the report said.

Despite the drop in near-term sentiment, around 39% of the respondents remained optimistic about the prospects for their business over the next three months.

The report was based on a survey of senior executives from proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, asset managers and the sellside from across the global crypto market.

The report showed that a clear majority (63%) of the respondents expect bitcoin and Ethereum futures to account for the largest share of institutional crypto trading volume growth over the next 12 months, as sentiment cools on alternative currencies.

For proprietary trading firms and institutional market makers especially, bitcoin and Ethereum futures remain the most efficient instruments for trading at scale.

However, a combined 71% of network members said that they were concerned about exchange-level price formation and manipulation risks when trading crypto derivatives. This was especially prominent among hedge funds.

Following Bitcoin’s decline from its October peak, investors have become increasingly selective in their allocation decisions, with other hot investor trends, such as AI stocks, competing for flow, according to Acuiti.

Tokenisation and RWAs

A total of 83% of network members believe that the real-world assets (RWA) market has matured over the last 12 months, although 70% say that adoption remains limited despite progress being made.

The report said that as institutions become more comfortable with the use of digital collateral and blockchain-based settlement processes, tokenised assets are also being viewed as part of the broader evolution of financial markets.

While enthusiasm continues to grow, there are certain factors hindering adoption. Network members identified insufficient liquidity and market depth as the main obstacles to wider institutional adoption, with over 50% citing it as the primary barrier.

“As tokenised assets become more widely issued, the industry’s ability to attract liquidity providers, trading venues and institutional participants will likely determine whether this can transition from a promising innovation to a mainstream component of global capital markets,” the report said.

Speaking at FIA's International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London in June, panellists said tokenisation could help address longstanding inefficiencies in collateral management, particularly for margin transfers outside traditional banking hours.

Stablecoins

One third of the respondents said that stablecoin regulation will shape how and where their firms transact over the next 12–24 months.

Over 70% of network members overwhelmingly favoured clearer regulatory treatment of existing USD stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, as the development most likely to support wider institutional crypto adoption.

Hyperliquid Policy Centre (HPC) and Paradigm in June filed a joint comment calling for changes to proposed anti-money laundering rules, in response to the Treasury’s proposed anti-money laundering rule implementing the Guaranteeing Essential National Infrastructure in US-Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in June warned that imposing broad compliance obligations for stablecoin issuers under the proposed anti-money laundering rules could create inconsistent or technically infeasible requirements.

On chain FX

The report highlighted that blockchain infrastructure is gaining significant credibility as a baseline for foreign exchange markets.

A majority (54%) of network members believe traditional foreign exchange (FX) is highly suited for onchain execution within the next 3 to 5 years, with 35% identifying stablecoin-based FX pairs as the most immediate deployment opportunity.

Meanwhile, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), in a research paper published in June said modernising settlement infrastructure, introducing digital collateral and building common standards for interoperable market infrastructure are key to scaling the use of digital assets in derivatives markets.