Binance Research: Crypto Market Lacks Active Management 'Discovery Layer', Neutral Strategies Absorb Over 90% of Institutional Funds

November 11 - A latest report from Binance Research points out that although institutional capital has already entered the crypto market in a big way, it has mainly flowed into passive Beta products (such as ETFs), while the active management track has not kept up. The core reason is not a lack of talent or returns, but the lack of an intermediate layer for "discovery and verification" connecting capital and managers. At present, the funding sources for crypto active strategies still rely heavily on acquaintance networks and conferences, and there is a lack of standardized performance verification and benchmarking systems. The survey shows that 80% of asset allocators rank asset security ahead of historical returns, and verified trading platform data can significantly strengthen due diligence, while managers believe that hard-to-verify performance and lengthy compliance reviews are the biggest obstacles to fundraising.

Capital Connect data reveals extreme divergence in capital allocation. Although directional strategies account for 44.3% of the total number of funds, they hold only 6.7% of the capital. In contrast, market-neutral, statistical arbitrage, and traditional multi-strategy funds, although accounting for less than half in number, have absorbed 92.1% of the capital. The average single investment size by institutions in neutral strategies is about 11 times that of directional strategies. In October, BTC fell 7.2%, but directional funds recorded an average positive return of +1.9%, while neutral strategies returned +1.0%, confirming the resilience of active strategies under pressure.

Binance Research concludes that institutional preference and the introduction of traditional structures are driving the market toward maturity, but allocators remain highly selective, and only a sound verification system and operational infrastructure can truly unlock inflows into actively managed capital.