Hong Kong Consensus Binance Voice: In the era of regulatory friendliness, why are institutions increasing their Bitcoin holdings?

Author: Viee, Biteye Content Team

In early February 2026, the winter of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour was busier than usual, as the Hong Kong Consensus Conference, the focal point of the Asian crypto narrative, was held again.

Recently, Bitcoin's price briefly fell below the $70,000 mark, with trading volume sluggish and investors anxious. In this bear market, what choices will these giants of exchanges make to cope with the cold wave? For ordinary retail investors, perhaps the question is not when the bull market will come, but whether they can survive this bear market. Platforms are adjusting their portfolios, institutions are building a bottom, and how should we allocate funds and protect our principal?

This article will start with Binance's statements at the Consensus Conference, analyze the underlying logic behind institutional purchases of Bitcoin, and discuss how retail investors and institutions can prepare together in the industry's winter, in conjunction with recent exchange financial activities.

1. Binance's Voice at the Consensus Conference

During this period of price volatility and low sentiment, the speeches at this Consensus Conference differed from the passionate expressions of previous bull market periods, resembling more a judgment on structural changes in the market. Among them, the speech by Binance's co-CEO Richard Teng @_RichardTeng was particularly representative, capturing several very clear signals regarding regulation, institutions, and infrastructure.

First, regulation is no longer an obstacle but a prerequisite.

Richard emphasized that "clear regulation is the foundation of innovation," specifically mentioning recent legislative progress in the United States and the confidence boost brought by the "Genius Act" to the stablecoin industry. Stablecoins are gradually transitioning from an internal liquidity tool in crypto to a part of corporate finance and cross-border settlement systems, indicating that crypto assets are also migrating toward financial infrastructure.

Second, the boundaries between Web2 and Web3 are disappearing.

Another noteworthy part of the speech was Binance's collaboration with Franklin Templeton on tokenized money market funds. Using tokenized funds as institutional collateral also means that traditional financial assets are being integrated into the crypto trading system.

At the same time, the growth in trading volume of precious metal derivatives reflects the genuine demand from institutions for a 24/7 global market. When money market funds, gold derivatives, and stablecoins begin to form a closed loop on the same platform, the role of exchanges shifts from merely facilitating trades to becoming a round-the-clock global financial hub.

Third, retail investors are on the sidelines while institutions are accumulating.

A key figure provided by Richard was that institutional investors increased their holdings by approximately 43,000 Bitcoins in January.

The significance of this number lies not in an immediate price increase but in the changing market structure. Retail users in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America remain active, but overall trading enthusiasm is indeed not as high as in a bull market. In contrast, institutional funds are continuously positioning themselves in low volatility ranges. Coupled with Binance's announcement on January 29, 2026, regarding the strategic adjustment of the SAFU fund, which will convert $1 billion of stablecoin reserves into Bitcoin reserves within 30 days, it shows that institutional confidence remains strong.

In other words, while retail investors are waiting for clear bottom signals, institutions are already making allocation decisions, and smart money may not have left the market.

So the question arises: when institutions are buying and platforms are adjusting asset structures, how should retail investors gain a deeper understanding of the implications behind these actions?

2. The Market is Still Sluggish, Why Are Institutions Already Taking Action?

Regarding the institutional buying mentioned earlier, let's first review how Bitcoin has attracted a large amount of institutional capital in recent years, especially since the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024, which has significantly enhanced institutional buying power.

1. Analysis of Institutional Buying Trends

Currently, institutional buying mainly enters the market through ETFs, investment funds, corporations, and governments. The following points reflect the current trend of institutional positioning:

• Spot ETFs are attracting massive capital: Institutions accessing the Bitcoin market through spot ETFs have become the mainstream method, and ETF data is also one of the ways to gauge market enthusiasm. For example, according to SoSoValue data, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF experienced the largest single-week capital outflow since last November at the end of January (approximately $1.22 billion), and historical experience shows that large-scale redemptions often occur near price bottoms, suggesting that Bitcoin may be approaching a local low. The data in the chart below indicates that the average holding cost for ETF investors is approximately $84,099, a price range that has formed key support levels multiple times in the past. If historical patterns repeat, this round of capital outflow may indicate that the short-term downward momentum is nearing its end, and there is potential for a market rebound.

• Total holdings by listed companies have surged: Reports indicate that by Q4 2025, the total amount of Bitcoin held by global listed companies reached approximately 1.1 million BTC (about $94 billion), with 19 new listed companies purchasing Bitcoin. This indicates that Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a strategic asset by more and more companies. In addition to well-known strategic treasury companies, several newly listed firms have also joined the buying ranks, further validating the trend of institutional capital inflow. The chart below shows the top 10 Bitcoin treasury data.

• National-level initiatives: Some countries are also publicly buying Bitcoin. The government of El Salvador announced in November 2025 that it spent $100 million in a single day to purchase approximately 1,090 BTC, bringing its total holdings to over 7,000 coins.

In summary, from 2024 to the present, institutional buying has exhibited characteristics of explosive ETF inflows and concentrated accumulation by corporations and investment funds. As Richard Teng mentioned, this trend is expected to continue into 2026 and continue to provide upward momentum for the market.

2. What are the Historically Representative Public Purchases of Bitcoin?

As of early 2026, historically, projects that publicly purchased Bitcoin for the purposes of "building markets, stabilizing ecosystems, or reserving assets" can be divided into five major categories. Here are a few representative cases:

From the table above, it can be seen that institutions buying Bitcoin for market building can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category is corporate asset allocation, such as MicroStrategy, where these companies use shareholder assets to treat BTC as a long-term value storage tool. The second category is national/DAO purchases held as reserve alternatives. The third category is exchange buying behavior, such as Binance's SAFU conversion. This practice shifts reserves from stablecoins to Bitcoin, which is more resistant to inflation, censorship, and can be self-custodied, enhancing asset independence in the face of potential geopolitical systemic shocks.

The distinction lies here: the vast majority of companies buying BTC do so based on corporate financial decisions. In contrast, Binance's use of a user protection fund means this purchase is aimed at restructuring risk.

3. How Does Binance's Approach Differ from Other Institutions?

First, the asset attributes are different.

MicroStrategy uses corporate assets, while ETF institutions' purchases are passive allocations from user subscription funds, which do not bear the corporate responsibility for price fluctuations. National purchases like those of El Salvador are more policy-driven strategic actions, making their decision logic difficult to replicate. In contrast, Binance uses a user protection fund, converting it to BTC, essentially viewing Bitcoin as the most reliable long-term asset.

Second, the execution methods differ.

The models of MicroStrategy, ETFs, and other institutions are closer to trend/bottom accumulation. Binance, on the other hand, buys in phases and has set up a rebalancing mechanism. If the SAFU market value falls below a predetermined safety line, it will continue to accumulate, indicating that this dynamic accumulation mechanism is part of long-term asset structure management.

Third, the market roles differ.

Corporate buying primarily affects the company's investment structure, while continuous ETF subscriptions represent that institutional compliance channels are still expanding. Exchange buying impacts overall market liquidity and sentiment structure. When the world's largest exchange locks $1 billion worth of BTC as a long-term reserve, it can strengthen bullish expectations for leading platforms, creating a demonstration effect.

4. What Retail Investors Need to Care About: What Does This Mean for the Market and BTC Prices?

In the short term, large-scale public buying has not triggered a sharp price increase, indicating that the market may be in a rational digestion phase. However, from a structural analysis, we believe there may be several medium- to long-term impacts.

First, $1 billion worth of BTC locked in the insurance fund effectively reduces circulating supply, even though it accounts for a relatively low proportion of total circulation (about 0.1%). According to relevant research data, spreading $1 billion over 30 days means buying about $33.33 million daily. In the daily trading volume of Bitcoin, which ranges from $30 billion to $50 billion, this only accounts for 0.1%-0.2%, making it difficult to create a significant impact. Using the TWAP algorithm, the buying amount per minute is only about $23,000, which is hardly noticeable against daily fluctuations. Therefore, the estimated price boost is expected to be within 0.5%-1.5%.

Second, as the strategic buying by the world's largest exchange is seen as an endorsement of Bitcoin by authoritative institutions, it may trigger an additional confidence premium. Therefore, in summary, considering direct buying and market sentiment together, the potential range for Bitcoin price increases may exceed 1%, reaching levels of 2%-5%.

Finally, the support mechanism. Since Binance has committed to continue buying if the SAFU falls below $800 million, this mechanism effectively sets a hard support level. When prices significantly retrace, the market will expect Binance to step in, helping to curb the downward trend.

In conclusion, Binance's billion-dollar phased buying is expected to have only a mild uplifting effect on Bitcoin, and it will not violently push prices up in the short term, but it provides an invisible support layer for market sentiment and prices, reflecting a long-term bullish confidence in Bitcoin rather than short-term speculation.

3. Retail Investors' Survival Rules in a Bear Market: Seeking Defensive Returns

As institutions allocate underlying assets, how should retail investors respond? Since they cannot change the market like large funds, the best approach is not to waste bullets.

During the current sluggish period, in addition to passively holding coins, utilizing platform activities for low-risk financial management is a necessary supplement to survive the winter. Looking at Binance's recent financial activities, the logic is very clear:

1. Low-threshold "current defense": For the $1 Booster financial product, the highest annualized return is about 8%. The $U Plan A Sunshine + deposit into B/C funds offers an annualized return of about 15%.

This is suitable for those who want to take it easy.

2. Advanced "combination punches": For veterans with $U or BNB on hand, staking financial products (such as Venus or Lista protocols) can yield 15%-20% compound returns.

In summary, the core logic is not to seek high-leverage illusory returns at this stage, but to emulate institutions by increasing position depth through stable financial management methods, ensuring survival through the winter.

4. Conclusion: Companions in the Cold Winter

The bear market will eventually pass, but those who survive will be qualified to welcome spring.

Currently, this long crypto winter is still testing the patience and will of every market participant. Through the window of the Hong Kong Consensus Conference, we have seen the real choices of leading exchanges.

As an old saying goes, "When winter comes, can spring be far behind?" In the bear market, some are preparing for the worst, which also means that the dawn will eventually arrive. Until then, all we can do is maintain rationality and patience, manage risks well, and cherish the chips in our hands.