"Virtual assets, an era of investment, not speculation"

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Mirae Asset Securities 'Structural change' outlook

An analysis found that the digital asset market is being reorganized from a speculation-centered, volatile market into a structural market led by institutional funds. Individual-centered volatility is decreasing, and it is assessed that regulatory- and institution-based flows of funds are leading the market.

On the 23rd, according to research and investment information platform epicAI, a Mirae Asset Securities researcher analyzed in the report that "the digital asset market ahead of 2026 may be boring but is becoming healthier." He diagnosed that "the era of speculative plays aiming for a quick windfall is gone, and predictability based on fundamentals is becoming the mainstream of the market."

The report cited the U.S. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)'s approval of on-chain tokenization and the push for the 'Clarity (clarity) law' to classify cryptocurrencies as securities as the background for this change. A researcher explained, "This means that digital assets have now been incorporated not as thematic speculative assets but as part of institutional financial infrastructure," and "as regulations are put in place, the possibility of price explosions decreases and stability and reliability increase."

Changes are also detected in market-leading forces. According to the report, over the past two years the holdings of early Bitcoin investors have declined substantially, and a 'structural change of hands' is occurring as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and institutional funds absorb them. A researcher said, "The digital asset market has now transformed from a market shaken by the speculative funds of a few individuals into a market dominated by funds that move according to portfolio rules."

He advised that an approach of observing the direction and speed of institutional fund inflows is needed rather than strategies aiming for short-term surges. A researcher emphasized, "Future profit opportunities are more likely to come from which assets can be included in institutional portfolios than from which coin will surge."

Reporter Park Ju-yeon grumpy_cat@hankyung.com