For much of its early history, bitcoin existed outside the traditional financial system. Governments called it illicit money for criminals. Wall Street banks dismissed it as speculative, unstable, and incompatible with regulated finance. But today, that stance has decisively changed. The arrival of institutional capital from firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase marks a major shift in bitcoin’s evolution from fringe experiment to institutional asset.
Early Skepticism
In 2017, while I was working for JPMorgan, bitcoin rose in price from $1,000 per bitcoin (January 2017) to $10,000 (November 28, 2017) to over $19,000 (December 17, 2017).Questions started trickling in from clients about bitcoin, and by late in the year, that trickle had turned into a flood. People started walking into my branch specifically to ask about how to buy bitcoin.The questions were so prevalent across all of our branches, that our leadership sent out a company wide email forbidding all of us from recommending or even discussing bitcoin with clients.The CEO of our bank said he would “fire in a second” any employee caught trading bitcoin, expressing his personal extreme skepticism. His opinion was not alone. As an example, another major Wall Street bank, Goldman Sachs, said bitcoin was not a viable investment as recently as 2020.
The Turning Point: ETFs and Infrastructure
Despite our CEO’s stance, client demand continued.People were intrigued by this rapidly growing asset class, and questions persisted.In 2020, I joined LPL, and by 2021, LPL was offering limited cryptocurrency access.Some large institutions, such as Fidelity Investments, were slowly getting on board.
So what changed for Wall Street? It was rising client demand, which led to the creation of the proper infrastructure for Wall Street to respond and capitalize. The approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 gave institutions a regulated, familiar way to gain exposure without directly holding crypto. At the same time, custody, compliance, and liquidity infrastructure matured, making participation operationally feasible for large banks. Let’s look at a couple examples of major Wall Street banks.
This is Goldman Sachs, see how quickly they’ve moved since the ETFs launched, going from zero to billions.
•2024: First disclosed Bitcoin ETF holdings of roughly $400+ million
•Late 2024: Exposure grew to about $700 million
•2025: Crypto ETF exposure expanded dramatically
•End of 2025: Approximately $2.36 billion in total crypto-linked assets
•~$1.06B in Bitcoin ETFs
•~$1.0B in Ethereum ETFs
•Smaller allocations to XRP and Solana ETFs
While this represents only a small percentage of Goldman’s total assets, the shift is striking: from no meaningful crypto exposure to multi-billion-dollar positions in under two years.
Even as JPMorgan’s leadership remains publicly skeptical, here’s their transition, a slightly more cautious approach but equally revealing.
•2024: First disclosed crypto ETF holdings totaling roughly $1 million
•2025: Bitcoin ETF exposure reportedly rose to $300+ million by late 2025
This growth is notable given the bank’s earlier posturing. JPMorgan expanded crypto access for clients, explored tokenization, and increased ETF exposure—signaling strategic acceptance regardless of public commentary.
Is Wall Street Coming for your Bitcoin?
Prior to 2021, less than 10 publicly traded companies reported owning bitcoin, but current estimates show that 151 publicly traded companies now hold bitcoin. Strategy (MSTR), previously known as Microstrategy, is the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, with over 717,000 as of February 17, 2026. They continue to accumulate bitcoin on a regular basis.
Now that 2025 is over, let’s look at last year’s intra-year volatility of bitcoin. It opened the year at $93.4k, reached an all time high price of $126.2k in October, and then closed out the year at $87.5k. Overall for the year, the price of bitcoin was down roughly 6%. Meanwhile, there is an increasingly stark contrast in bitcoin ownership, shifting out of the hands of individuals and into the hands of large institutions such as corporations, funds and ETFs, and even governments.
Fast forward to February 17, 2026, and the price of bitcoin has dropped to $67.5k, down 22.9% Year To Date and over 46% from its all time high price 4 months ago. This type of drop can create a narrative among individual investors: extreme fear for those currently holding bitcoin and trying to decide what they want to do with it, or confirmation for those who have not owned bitcoin only to have seen prices soar, and now feel content to simply stand on the sidelines.
Even the US Government is Not Standing on the Sidelines
For many years, crypto in the US didn’t have clear laws — regulators often acted case by case, and companies were unsure what was allowed. That’s changing. Congress passed a law in 2025 specifically for stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar), called the GENIUS Act, which sets rules for how these must work (like having real dollar-backing and regular audits). This is one of the first nationwide crypto laws in US history.
There’s a major new crypto bill being debated called the CLARITY Act that would set rules for the entire crypto market — not just stablecoins. It’s stalled because Wall Street banks and crypto companies disagree on parts of it, so the White House is meeting with both sides to find a compromise.
There have been proposals and executive actions to explore a U.S. cryptocurrency stockpile or reserve, meaning the government might hold bitcoin and other digital assets in reserves like it does gold. While this is still in early stages and more conceptual than law, it reflects serious interest at high levels.
The Big Picture
Wall Street, publicly traded corporations, and even governments are increasing their exposure to bitcoin. More and more publicly traded corporations are initiating positions. The US government is now working on passing crypto laws to make it more attractive for big investors and institutions to participate, while discussing the possibility of a bitcoin reserve. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin has dropped significantly just in the last 4 months, and the retail investor appears to be selling their holdings in aggregate. That doesn’t guarantee what happens next, but it does highlight a familiar market pattern where when uncertainty is highest, institutions appear to be accumulating at the same time that retail investors are liquidating.