- Veteran investor Larry Lepard calls Bitcoin “a wild animal,” noting that while steep drawdowns persist, they have become significantly less severe as the asset matures.
- Lepard remains bullish on both Bitcoin and Strategy, advising Executive Chairman Michael Saylor to simply hold the company’s BTC rather than sell.
- Institutional investors have become the dominant force in crypto trading, now accounting for 72% of spot volume on Wintermute’s OTC desk, which is dampening market volatility.
Veteran investor Larry Lepard compared Bitcoin to “a wild animal” on Tuesday, stating that while the cryptocurrency has experienced deeper drawdowns historically, those declines have lessened in percentage terms as the asset matures. Lepard, founder and managing partner of Equity Management Associates, “just fools you all the time, and it’s unpredictable,” he said during a recent interview.
The current pullback of roughly 55% from Bitcoin’s October peak is far less severe than the 90% crashes seen in its early days, which Lepard attributes to the asset’s evolving nature. He remained bullish on both Bitcoin and Strategy, arguing that Executive Chairman Michael Saylor should focus on holding rather than selling the company’s digital assets. “If I had any advice for Michael Saylor, it would be just shut up and sit on your hands,” Lepard said, adding that “the only thing that really matters here is the price of Bitcoin.”
His remarks come as institutional investors are quietly replacing retail traders as crypto’s primary market force, according to a recent report. Hedge funds and asset managers accounted for 72% of spot trading volume on market maker Wintermute’s over-the-counter desk in the first half of 2026, up from 59% a year earlier.
Consequently, institutions are gaining more exposure to altcoins through derivatives and structured products rather than buying tokens outright, with altcoin options volume on Wintermute’s desk more than tripling. This shift has produced one of crypto’s most atypical drawdowns, with Bitcoin declining steadily rather than experiencing the violent re-pricing that marked past crypto winters. BTC’s price was up by 0.8% during the past 24 hours, though retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained in the ‘bearish’ zone.
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