This is not entirely accurate. While institutions generally prioritize established assets for their stability and liquidity, there is a growing interest in altcoins beyond the “blue chips.” Here’s why:

1. Diversity in Use Cases:

• Institutions are starting to recognize altcoins with unique use cases and strong ecosystems, such as Polkadot (DOT) for interoperability, Chainlink (LINK) for oracles, and Arbitrum (ARB) for scaling Ethereum.

• Projects like Fetch.ai (FET) and SingularityNET (AGIX), which blend AI and blockchain, are also catching institutional attention due to their potential for real-world applications.

2. Early-Stage Investment Opportunities:

• Institutions often allocate a small portion of their portfolios to high-risk, high-reward opportunities. Emerging altcoins can offer significant upside if they become mainstream.

3. Institutional Products:

• Products like Grayscale’s crypto funds or ETFs are beginning to include altcoins. For example, Grayscale’s DeFi fund includes smaller tokens, indicating institutional interest is expanding beyond just the top assets.

“Crypto whales and retailers will still drive pump other alts and dump afterwards.”

This is partly true, but not the whole picture:

1. Market Evolution:

• As the crypto market matures, there’s increasing scrutiny and regulatory oversight, which discourages pump-and-dump schemes.

• Whales can influence the market in the short term, but the long-term value of altcoins depends on utility, adoption, and developer activity, not just manipulation.

2. Data and Transparency:

• Blockchain analytics tools make it easier to track whale movements and mitigate the effects of pump-and-dump schemes. Retail investors are becoming savvier and less susceptible to such tactics.

3. Institutional Influence:

• Institutions may stabilize the market by bringing long-term capital and reducing volatility.

In conclusion, the crypto market is evolving. Institutions are gradually diversifying their portfolios with selected altcoins.