Institutional investors are now shaping crypto markets more than retail traders, marking what Wintermute has described as a turning point in the evolution of digital assets. "As crypto works through a bear market, with retail largely absent and preoccupied with equities, the structure underneath is easier to see," the report said. Rather than chasing short-term price swings, institutional investors tend to operate under defined mandates and risk limits, holding positions over longer periods. The result, the report said, is a market with lower volatility and liquidity concentrated in a smaller group of assets. The report also found institutional investors trade a relatively narrow universe of tokens, while retail investors continue to spread activity across a much larger number of assets.