Coatue Management founder Philippe Laffont told participants at Coinbase’s Crypto Summit in New York City on Thursday that Bitcoin is becoming a serious part of the traditional portfolio as its former volatility continues to decline.
The hedge fund boss believes that assets are moving from speculative territory to more fundamental, and that price action is beginning to approach legacy markets.
Laffont explained that Coatue was initially avoiding Bitcoin due to its previous instability. But now, mathematics is changing. “Maybe… it’s interesting to me that the cost of entering Bitcoin is shrinking,” he said.
“If the beta version is reduced, it would be very interesting.” The term beta is used to compare the volatility of an asset with a wider market.
Institutions buy as holders’ behavior changes
Laffont noted that Bitcoin had risen nearly 13% so far in 2025. But that didn’t stand out to him. More importantly, they felt that price movements were more controlled than in the past.
In 2022, Bitcoin lost more than 60% of its value, while Nasdaq Composite fell 33%. It was one of the years when the court was kept on the bystanders.
Fast forward to April 2025 after President Donald Trump announced the new tariffs, and the photos looked very different. From April 2nd to April 10th, Bitcoin fell by about 5%, while the Nasdaq exceeded 6%. It is the type of performance that informs mature assets.
He said that price isn’t the only improvement in this behavior. It’s about the people who have it. Laffont said the number of Bitcoin wallets selling their entire holdings has dropped sharply in just a month.
“It’s coming down a lot,” he said. Instead of trading in and out of the country, more holders stay for the long term. It is a significant change in market dynamics, especially when it comes to institutional comfort.
Another sign of that change? Celebrities are involved. Laffont mentioned BlackRock, saying that the company played a leading role in bringing Bitcoin ETFs to the market. Until recently, such participation was not possible. The biggest asset managers are behind it, so more agencies are following.
Laffont believes this is pushing Bitcoin to be a necessary part of the portfolio. He said the assets represent only about $2 trillion out of the $500 trillion global wealth. It’s still a small share. But if people continue to cherish it, he argued, it must “be more central.” On his scale, growth potential is still enormous.
Laffont admits that he misses the early waves and tells others not to overdo it
Coat didn’t stop completely from the code. Laffont said it is investing in both private and public companies in the sector, including Dune Analytics, Hut 8 and CoreWeave. CoreWeave, an AI infrastructure company, is working with Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific.
Still, Laffont revealed that he regrets not digging deep into Bitcoin itself. “Every night I wake up at 3am and say, ‘What a fool. Why didn’t you invest more in Bitcoin?”
He condemned the delay in rethinking. Laffont said he previously focused too much on complex theories and discussions about use cases. But the core truth was simple. When people believe it, the value increases. “As long as others think it’s worth it, it’s more valuable over time. That’s what we’ve missed,” he said.
Now he said he would instruct investors to consider putting “one or two or three or four percent” of their assets in Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves from inflation.
He also explained how clients fall into three groups. Some people trust him and don’t ask questions. Then there are people who stand up to him by saying, “Why did they miss out on one of the biggest trends in the world?”
And finally, there are some cautious people who are still uncomfortable with the cryptography related stuff. “That,” said Rahonto, “it’s a dying population.” He said those people are getting smaller each year.
Even if Laffont warms up to Bitcoin, he still warned people not to be at the center of their portfolio. “For those who think Bitcoin is important, my recommendation will never be the majority of the portfolio that drives the portfolio,” he said.
His advice is to make it small and stable. “You’re going to make more money by having a smaller position that can last for 10 years than the big ones that are always worried about you.”
