Institutional money shifts from bitcoin to XRP and Solana, Wintermute says altcoin rotation clear

As bitcoin moves sideways, institutional money is shifting to XRP and Solana.

On Sept. 1 (local time), blockchain outlet U.Today reported that market maker Wintermute assessed that the cryptocurrency market was not shaken by hawkish remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve chair and a drop in U.S. tech stocks, and that rotation by big money into altcoins became clear in the process.

The key is that money flows are changing while bitcoin holds up. Bitcoin entered a correction after a 23 percent surge and ended last week little changed. By contrast, an altcoin index rose 0.61 percent, beating returns on bitcoin and ethereum.

Large investors focused on XRP and Solana. Inflows into exchange-traded funds related to the two assets hit their highest level so far in 2026. Solana funds took in $154 million, and XRP funds took in $110 million. Wintermute said the trend showed the rotation of money was broadening across the industry.

Support at the market’s lower end also came closer to institutions than retail investors. Spot bitcoin ETFs saw $924 million of inflows over a week. But a run of inflows for 9 consecutive trading days ended with $202 million of outflows last Friday. Ethereum funds gathered $816 million without a single day of outflows.

Additional firepower was also mentioned. Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, raised an additional $2 billion and currently holds about $1.6 billion in net cash. Wintermute called this “dry powder” and interpreted it as sidelined funds that could be deployed for additional buying. It also cited as a market support factor that large investors, still not fully invested, are ready to buy on dips.

The macro environment remains a variable. After Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said he would return inflation to 2 percent, the probability of a September rate cut was priced at 61.9 percent. In traditional financial markets, the Russell 2000 index fell 1.40 percent and tech stocks entered a correction. Crypto would have weakened alongside them in a similar macro phase in the past, but Wintermute noted this time was different.

Near-term direction is still not clear. Whether the market moves straight into further gains or slips back into a correction is likely to be determined by U.S. employment data. The first test will be U.S. nonfarm payrolls due on Sept. 4. Wintermute said buying could keep the upper hand if bitcoin holds $75,000 and $72,000. If the weekly close falls below $72,000, the positive scenario would be invalid and there would be no clear floor below that level, it warned.

The latest trend showed in numbers that institutional money is moving broadly into altcoins after bitcoin’s rise. With ETF inflows and sidelined funds supporting the market’s lower end, it also means the influence of big money has become clearer than that of retail investors.

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Yoonseo Leeyslee@d-today.co.kr

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Source: www.digitaltoday.co.kr