Analyst names Bitcoin buyer that could be bigger than Saylor

Billionaire Michael Saylor-led Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is the biggest buyer of Bitcoin (BTC) in the crypto market.

This is why the company's recent sale of the cryptocurrency shocked the market as Saylor had repeatedly argued against selling Bitcoin ever.

The company sold 32 Bitcoin for around $2.5 million in late May, followed by another sale of 3,588 Bitcoin for $216 million in late June.

But Bitcoin has shown a rather flat price movement over the last month which caught the eye of Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.

Related: Michael Saylor predicts Bitcoin's next decade

Hougan says institutional capital will be bigger Bitcoin buyer than Saylor's Strategy

In an interview published on July 8, Hougan said Bitcoin "shrugged off" Strategy's sale and didn't crash more at all.

Over the past few years, Saylor's company was the biggest Bitcoin buyer but that role is fading as it's no longer the "primary source of marginal capital," he said.

But it's not a new trend as Bitcoin's major buyer have been changing over its short history of a decade and a half, he highlighted. First, cyberpunks were the dominant players. Then, Asian retail investors emerged, followed by U.S. retail investors.

Later, Strategy consolidated its position as Bitcoin's biggest buyer. But the baton will pass to institutional investors, the investment officer predicted.

"The next marginal buyer is the end boss of investing... It's institutional capital," Hougan predicted.

Trending on TheStreet Roundtable

• SpaceX moves Bitcoin amid possible market crash
• American veterans to receive $10,000 in XRP from Ripple
• U.S. judge behind landmark XRP ruling deals fresh blow

Wall Street professionals earlier risked their reputation if they supported crypto but now it could be risky to ignore these assets, he added.

Investment giants like BlackRock and Fidelity are already offering Bitcoin products to retail investors, with more issuers queued up.

With 843,775 BTC on its balance sheet, Strategy is still the largest Bitcoin holder.

BTC/USD, Source: Decibel

Bitcoin was trading at $62,860 at press time, as per Decibel.

Related: This is what $1,000 investment in Strategy 10 years ago is worth today