Institutional Exodus from Solana Fuels Bitcoin’s Surge to 31% Portfolio Dominance – Bybit Report

Wall Street's crypto shuffle just got brutal. Bitcoin is vacuuming up institutional capital as Solana gets dumped—proof that even in decentralized finance, herd mentality reigns supreme.

The big rotation no one saw coming

Bybit's latest data shows BTC allocations hitting 31% as traders flee SOL positions. Turns out 'Ethereum killer' narratives don't survive bear markets—but orange coin supremacy does.

Portfolio rebalancing or panic move?

While analysts spin this as prudent diversification, the timing reeks of post-halving FOMO. Institutions love chasing performance—right after it's already happened.

One hedge fund manager (who clearly missed the 2024 rally) told us: 'This is about risk management.' Sure it is—just like your 3AM limit orders are about 'strategy.'

Behind the shift: what’s driving the allocation toward BTC and XRP?

The jump in BTC allocation reflects a deliberate pivot, particularly from institutional desks—toward perceived resilience. Bybit’s report shows institutions now hold bitcoin at nearly 3x the concentration of retail investors, with BTC making up roughly 40% of their portfolios compared to retail’s 11.64%.

This divergence highlights Bitcoin’s dual role: a speculative asset for retail investors and a macro hedge for institutions. The resilience is even more notable when paired with Ethereum’s underperformance. Despite ETH’s May rebound, investors still hold $4 in BTC for every $1 in ETH—a ratio that has remained largely unchanged since late 2024.

XRP’s rise appears less driven by momentum trading and more by positioning. XRP holdings doubled from 1.29% to 2.42% since November 2024, as both retail and institutional investors anticipate regulatory clarity.

Bybit flags XRP as the third-largest non-stablecoin holding as of May 2025, surpassing Solana, whose allocation collapsed during the same period. With a 90% probability of spot ETF approval priced in on Polymarket, XRP has become a speculative proxy for upcoming institutional access.

The capital rotation away from SOL and into XRP reflects this dynamic. Institutions appear to be front-running the SEC, wagering that Ripple’s legal clarity offers a strategic edge over Solana’s less defined regulatory standing.

Beyond Bitcoin and XRP, capital is consolidating into a narrow set of majors. Ethereum, while still trailing its November peak of 11.12%, saw its allocation more than double in May from an April low of 3.89%.