Grayscale: Bitcoin Bottomed at $58K, Now 'Green Light' for Allocation

Grayscale Research Head Zach Pandl told clients on Thursday that Bitcoin's June low of $58,000 marked the cycle bottom, and the firm is now giving a green light for Bitcoin allocation.

Pandl's View on the Bottom

Pandl told The Block at the Avalanche Summit in New York that Grayscale determined $58,000 was the bottom in late June, and he maintains that view.

Bitcoin traded above $76,000 on Thursday, up 1% in 24 hours, but still about 39% below its all-time high of roughly $126,000.

Grayscale uses a three-part framework before recommending client allocation, covering long-term structural trends, market cycle positioning, and macroeconomic context.

Pandl said all three conditions are now clear. "In my view, all of these conditions are met today," he said. "So we're certainly giving clients a green light."

This assessment echoes Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who said on September 10 that Bitcoin had bottomed in the current cycle and expected a two-year uptrend heading into the next halving.

Why Pandl Is Also Watching Zcash

Pandl also told The Block that Grayscale has offered Zcash investment products for about nine years, and his thesis builds on a gap left by Bitcoin: privacy.

"Bitcoin needs a privacy layer, digital currency needs a privacy layer, and Bitcoin lacks that," Pandl said.

His view is that Zcash occupies a design space that hasn't been fully explored, rather than directly competing with Bitcoin.

Different blockchains make different trade-offs, and Zcash prioritizes privacy at the expense of some of the transparency Bitcoin offers.

Pandl believes that as AI becomes more powerful and personal data more exposed, Zcash offers investors a direct way to express a view on the theme of financial and personal privacy.

Why Timing Matters

Pandl's green light comes after two market shocks within a week: the Clarity Act setback in the Senate and the Fed's first rate hike in three years.

Despite both events, he has not walked back his bottom call or allocation recommendation.

This conviction comes from one of the largest institutional crypto asset managers, lending support to the narrative at a time when overall market sentiment is fragile.