Bitcoin Is Down… But Institutional Demand Is Surging w/ Austin Reid
Speakers
Austin Reid — Global Head of Revenue and Business, FalconX
— Chopping Block co-host
Summary
- Institutional Divergence: While retail sentiment and spot prices have dipped, institutional infrastructure build-out is accelerating. FalconX notes a massive surge in banks and asset managers setting up "pipes" for crypto, contrasting sharply with retail apathy.
- The ETF Dominance: Spot-to-ETF volume ratios for Bitcoin have hit 50%, and IBIT (BlackRock) options now account for 50% of global crypto options volume. The market is shifting from offshore, unregulated venues to regulated US instruments.
- Credit Markets Evolving: Traditional financial institutions are now accepting Bitcoin as collateral for lending, viewing it as a superior, liquid asset compared to traditional illiquid collateral.
- Commodities on Chain: A specific prediction regarding the "Hyperliquid" platform, which reportedly captured ~20% of global silver volume in two months, driven largely by weekend/overnight trading when traditional markets are closed.
Trade Ideas
"People typically look at us and Galaxy and Coinbase in terms of having the largest loan books... We've seen a significant acceleration in global banks and asset managers setting up the pipes." FalconX (private) is seeing record demand for prime brokerage and credit. Since investors cannot buy FalconX, they must buy its public competitors/peers (Coinbase and Galaxy Digital) who share the same oligopoly on institutional crypto credit and prime services. LONG the "Picks and Shovels" of institutional onboarding. Fee compression as traditional banks (TradFi) eventually enter the market directly.
"IBIT options are 50% of global crypto options volume... we've seen the ratio of spot to Bitcoin ETF volume flex to like 50%." Liquidity is rapidly consolidating into the BlackRock ETF (IBIT) and its derivatives. As institutions prefer regulated wrappers over raw spot Bitcoin, IBIT becomes the primary vehicle for price discovery and volume, commanding a liquidity premium over other vehicles. LONG IBIT as the "Kingmaker" of institutional flows. Regulatory reversal or high fees relative to holding spot directly (though institutions prioritize compliance over minor fee differences).
Austin Reid
Global Head of Revenue and Business, FalconX
"Hyperliquid... like 20% of global silver volume in two months... vast majority to like maybe 100% of volume that's happening on nights and weekends." The tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is creating a new, 24/7 liquidity venue for commodities. If crypto traders are aggressively trading gold and silver on weekends, this creates net new demand velocity for the underlying commodities. The "convergence" trade implies higher volatility and volume for the underlying ETFs (GLD/SLV) as arbitrageurs bridge the gap between DeFi and TradFi. LONG Commodities as they gain a 24/7 trading premium. Disconnect between paper claims (tokenized) and physical delivery could lead to de-pegging events that don't translate to ETF price action.
Austin Reid
Global Head of Revenue and Business, FalconX
Austin is speaking live from the "MicroStrategy Conference" and notes that "traditional sources of capital... look to take Bitcoin specifically as collateral." If banks are increasingly comfortable lending against Bitcoin collateral, MicroStrategy's leveraged strategy becomes less risky and cheaper to finance. The acceptance of BTC as "pristine collateral" by TradFi directly benefits the largest corporate holder utilizing leverage. LONG MSTR as the beneficiary of improved credit terms for BTC holders. Bitcoin price crash leading to margin calls/liquidation of the corporate treasury.
Up Next
This Milk Road Macro video, published February 23, 2026, features Austin Reid discussing COIN, GLXY, IBIT, GLD, SLV, MSTR. 4 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Austin Reid · Tickers: COIN, GLXY, IBIT, GLD, SLV, MSTR