Bitcoin and Ethereum are supported by steady institutional demand for ETFs and low leverage, with BTC expected to exceed $80,000 to $85,000 in the short term, and ETH targeting $2,800 to $3,000, says Ryan Lee, senior analyst at Bitget Research.
summary
- Bitget senior research analyst Ryan Lee says the current rally has a firmer base than previous retail-led cycles because it is driven by institutional allocation rather than speculative positioning.
- Lee expects gold’s rally near record levels to reflect the spread of capital across multiple stores of value rather than concentration in a single hedge.
- Oil remaining higher adds macro pressures that could delay interest rate cuts and tighten liquidity, with crypto upside remaining tied to whether institutional flows continue to absorb rather than respond to volatility.
Bitget Senior Research Analyst Ryan Lee says Bitcoin and Ethereum remain in a short-term building trend supported by consistent institutional allocation, with demand for ETFs, lower leverage, and improving spot market participation keeping both assets on a steady footing. Such as crypto.news I mentionedU.S. Bitcoin ETFs posted eight straight days of net inflows totaling $2.1 billion through April 23, the longest streak since October 2025, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for nearly 75% of the total capital entering the category.
Bitget Research sees BTC having crossed $80k to $85k with continued inflows
“The current move is not driven by strong speculative positions, giving the rally a stronger base than previous sessions that were mainly shaped by retail momentum,” Lee said. In the short term, Lee expects Bitcoin to cross $80,000 to $85,000 with sustained inflows, while Ethereum is expected to follow with gains between $2,800 to $3,000, driven by ecosystem upgrades and broader adoption. Such as crypto.news NotarizedInstitutional ETF inflows and corporate balance sheet buying have bolstered Bitcoin’s role as a digital reserve, with analysts noting that Bitcoin and Ethereum have outperformed gold and broad stock indexes this year even as geopolitical risks and higher oil prices typically favor bullion. Lee’s assessment that the rally has a steadier institutional base than previous retail-driven cycles is consistent with that data: The eight-day series of flows absorbed roughly 19,000 BTC versus about 2,100 BTC produced by miners in the same period, meaning institutional demand absorbed about nine times the new supply.
Gold and oil are reshaping the macro environment for digital assets
Lee noted that gold’s stability near high levels reflects continued demand for defensive assets as markets price in light of geopolitical uncertainty, challenging inflation expectations, and slow policy easing across major economies. He described this as a sign that capital is being distributed across multiple stores of value rather than concentrated in a single hedge. Such as crypto.news trackingBitcoin ETF flows proved sensitive to exactly this dynamic in 2026, with oil’s surge towards $100 per barrel earlier in the year leading to risk-off conditions that pulled more than $296 million out of Bitcoin ETFs in one week. Lee acknowledged that oil remaining higher adds another layer of macro pressure because higher energy costs could delay interest rate cut expectations and tighten liquidity conditions in markets.
What does institutional absorption mean for the position of cryptocurrencies in investment portfolios?
For digital assets, the upside remains tied to whether institutional flows continue to absorb rather than respond to macro volatility, Lee said. “If this continues, cryptocurrencies will remain in place as part of the broader portfolio construction,” Lee said. Such as crypto.news maleLee has previously argued that ETF flows are not the only factor behind Bitcoin’s performance and that technical and macroeconomic catalysts combine with the institutional setting to drive price movement across cycles. The current environment, where institutional flows are absorbing supply at nine times the rate of mining, represents precisely the kind of structural demand base that Lee’s framework identifies as more sustainable than speculative retail momentum.
