Spot Ether ETFs grabbed headlines this summer, but they’re only the most visible sign of a more profound shift: institutional investors are fundamentally rewriting crypto’s market structure. As pensions, asset managers and banks scale their exposure, liquidity, pricing and risk management are increasingly following institutional playbooks rather than retail sentiment. This evolution compresses the “casino” feel that drew early adopters, while shifting returns toward steady, repeatable strategies like basis trades, yield capture and fee spreads that large players can systematically capture, even if they feel less…
