In an interview with Cryptonews.com, CIO of digital asset bank Sygnum, discusses a potential long-term demand shock, the power of the “multiplier effect”, the diminishing supply of BTC liquid, the increase in demand for ETFs, the effect of this change on the crypto market, and more.
In a recent email, Dori argued that the crypto market was potentially facing a long-term demand shock, not short-term speculative flows.
This follows significant regulatory advancements, particularly in the United States, which have facilitated the launch of a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF), thereby spurring structurally higher participation from institutional allocators.
According to Dori, “this change is part of a broader “devaluation trade.” » Institutions are reallocating to rare and non-dilutive assets, such as Bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency in the world.
Additionally, demand for ETFs is “steadily absorbing circulating supply” and major banks, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, are expanding “access to spot Bitcoin ETFs amid rising sovereign debt and continued inflation uncertainty.”
Mathias Imbach, co-founder and CEO of Sygnum Group, spoke with host Steve Sedgwick this morning in London about the impact of regulatory change in the United States. “We have seen a massive increase in tenders, with banks preparing for this and building the… — Sygnum Bank (@sygnumofficial)
Cryptonews.com discussed this remarkable change in more detail with Dori. Our interview is below.CN: Could you elaborate on your view that ETFs will experience a long-term demand shock?
As was so amply demonstrated in the first round of historic Bitcoin ETFs, strong demand has a strong multiplier effect, with each dollar of demand leading to $20 or $30 in additional market capitalization as liquidity dries up.
As new currency enters the market, the limited supply causes prices to rise rapidly. This upward pressure is expected to intensify as early inflows are absorbed, leaving even less Bitcoin available for subsequent demand. This is what we mean by a “demand shock”: when the amount of silver entering the market exceeds the supply available for sale, the price experiences an upward shock.
Over the past few months, the liquidity supply has been torn in two directions: on the one hand, the emergence of new acquisition vehicles such as (Micro)Strategy, Twenty One Capital and others and increasing institutional adoption have reduced the liquidity supply, while on the other hand, the tendency of very long-term holders to sell part of their exposure during the latest rally has contributed to an increase in the liquidity supply.
Overall, the significant reduction in Bitcoin balances on exchanges, however, shows that the liquid supply is decreasing significantly, according to CryptoQuant, from around 1.5 million BTC in the first half of 2025 to around 1.1 million BTC by the end of the year.
“If you believe the future of value, storage, and transportation is going to be on digital networks, then you want to own pieces of those networks. When you buy Bitcoin, you’re buying a piece of the network; when you buy Ethereum, you’re buying a piece of the network,” says… – Sygnum Bank (@sygnumofficial) CN: You’ve argued that “sustained demand for ETFs could influence price discovery through 2026.” Could you tell us more?
As noted above, ETFs have a strong multiplier effect in all cases. What makes this even more significant is how the pace and scale of adoption is changing. Traditionally, financial institutions tend to move slowly due to long investment cycles, complex internal approval processes and the need to adjust operational and risk management procedures in compliance.
With recent regulatory developments, including lowering barriers to launching crypto ETFs, we are seeing participation from institutional allocators at a much faster and higher rate than previous, more tactical entries.
This will likely have a significant effect on pricing as the market adapts to uncharted territory.
Fabian Dori, Chief Investment Officer of Sygnum, took the stage at the SwissACT private event. “Crypto assets are steadily moving up the adoption curve, with distinct use cases emerging across investor categories. From a corporate treasury perspective, there are three applications… — Sygnum Bank (@sygnumofficial) CN: What does this mean for the market?
Bloomberg forecasts between $15 billion and $40 billion in capital flows in 2026 – and that figure will likely be closer to the upper bound if, as expected, the US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates this year. If the CLARITY Act is passed by the US Senate, capital flows are expected to accelerate further.
Considering the multiplier effect mentioned above, strong momentum can be expected in the crypto market. Of course, this is just one of many factors that make things happen.
More broadly, crypto ETF flows have historically been positively correlated with market performance. Strong markets attract capital inflows and net creations, while declines trigger redemptions. At the same time, there is plenty of evidence that Bitcoin ETF holders are providing long-term support – just look, for example, at how well they held up during the last drawdown.
With various factors that have historically supported crypto assets – such as an accelerating business cycle, improving liquidity conditions or strong on-chain activities, for example – and both institutional and sovereign adoption increasing, we broadly expect a growth trajectory for allocations in crypto-based ETFs in 2026. According to David Duong, head of investment research at Coinbase, the momentum in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stablecoins, tokenization and clearer regulation is starting to take hold. In his year-end outlook shared on
There are of course many variables, including macroeconomic indicators such as inflation and labor market figures, that can and will affect demand. But a lot also depends on the Clarity Act.
If and when this passes, we certainly expect new deposits to continue beyond BTC and ETH, with increased demand for staking yields further driving demand, and rules-based index or basket products could emerge as a new frontier.
It is important to remember, however, that the underlying tokens must meet liquidity, trading, custody, monitoring, and other requirements to ensure that this demand is sustainable in the long term.
Sygnum Chief Investment Officer Fabian Dori on stage at this year’s Forum Finanz und Wirtschaft in Zurich. “The fourth quarter brought a painful correction and reset in sentiment – but the medium-term drivers of this cycle (macro dynamics, liquidity, on-chain fundamentals and regulation)… — Sygnum Bank (@sygnumofficial) CN: What can affect demand?
Increased demand can come from a wide variety of sources. State and local governments seeking reserve assets, allocations from large institutional investors, and potentially corporate Treasuries are all expected to contribute to the cumulative net demand that fuels this multiplier effect, in a rush.
For future indicators, it is crucial to look beyond the underlying crypto. For example, stable market cap is a strong proxy signal, with increases generally indicating that more funds are flowing into the crypto market.
Mathias Imbach from Sygnum on CNBC: “Stablecoins are not a threat to national currencies. » Mathias Imbach, co-founder and CEO of Sygnum Group, joined this morning in London to speak with host Steve Sedgwick about why stablecoins, deposit tokens and CBDCs will… — Sygnum Bank (@sygnumofficial) CN: What major factors could be at play here? What impact would this have on the market?
We entered 2026 against a backdrop of significant geopolitical uncertainty, which highlights how difficult it is to anticipate the wide range of global political risks that can influence markets. Even identified geopolitical hotspots have the potential to disrupt demand and investor confidence in ways that are difficult to predict.
Economically, AI will once again be one of the driving forces, potentially pulling in a number of directions: from downward pressures from (potentially) a decline in labor demand or, as some predict, a major market crash, to the benefits of AI’s increasing integration with crypto, bringing with it a new wave of utility and therefore value. 2026United States Asset manager Bitwise has forecast a wave of new crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), forecasting that more than 100 such products could launch in the United States by 2026 as regulatory clarity accelerates and barriers between issuers fall.
