Institutional investors still eye crypto despite FTX collapse

Data from crypto exchange Bitstamp shows that institutional registrations on the trading platform increased by 57% in November.

The negative effects caused by the FTX debacle have placed the crypto space in an unfavorable light. However, institutional investors continue to show interest in the industry, even at the height of the FTX controversy. 

According to crypto exchange Bitstamp, institutional registrations within its digital asset trading platform were up 57% in November — when the topic of the FTX collapse frequented news headlines — compared with October. The exchange also told Cointelegraph that its total revenue was up 45% in the same period, with revenue coming from institutions up by 34% and from retail traders up by 72%.

The exchange also highlighted that active global retail users in November also increased by 43% compared with October, with United States-based users up by 18%. This suggests that even with FTX being a hot topic in the space, more crypto investors were actively trading on the exchange.

On-chain analyst Willy Woo also commented on the issue of traditional finance investors eyeing the space. In a tweet, Woo argued that while the FTX collapse looks like it has the industry back, traditional finance capital allocators are viewing the situation as an opportunity to enter. “They see Bitcoin and crypto is here to stay and it’s now been de-risked,” he wrote.

On Dec. 6, financial services firm Goldman Sachs expressed its intent to purchase or invest in crypto companies. Goldman Sachs executive Mathew McDermott mentioned that the firm is already doing due diligence and is seeing opportunities while valuations are low. The executive also noted that while FTX became a prominent example within the industry, the underlying technology behind the space still continues to perform.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried hires defense attorney as US authorities probe FTX: Report

Meanwhile, SEBA Bank aims to speed up institutional adoption through a partnership with HashKey Group. On Dec. 5, the firm announced that it will be working with HashKey to accelerate digital asset adoption within institutions in Hong Kong and Switzerland.

On Nov. 4, a survey released by Fidelity Digital Assets showed why institutions are accumulating crypto in 2022. In a previous interview with Cointelegraph, Chris Kuiper, the head of research at Fidelity Digital Assets, mentioned that there is an increase in institutions holding crypto, while 78% of respondents are planning to enter the space in the future.