Binance Research: The crypto market lacks a proactive management "discovery layer", with neutral strategies siphoning off over 90% of institutional funds.

Binance Research’s latest report notes that while institutional capital has flooded the crypto market, it is flowing primarily into passive beta products such as ETFs, with the active management segment lagging behind. The core reason is not a lack of talent or returns, but the absence of a "discovery and validation" intermediary layer connecting capital and managers. Currently, funding for crypto active strategies remains heavily reliant on personal networks and conferences, with a lack of standardized performance verification and benchmark systems. Surveys show 80% of asset allocators prioritize asset safety over historical returns; verified trading platform data significantly strengthens due diligence, while managers cite hard-to-verify performance and lengthy compliance reviews as the biggest barriers to fundraising. Capital Connect data reveals extreme polarization in capital allocation: directional strategies account for 44.3% of total funds but hold only 6.7% of capital. Conversely, market-neutral, statistical arbitrage, and traditional multi-strategy funds, though making up less than half of total funds, have attracted 92.1% of capital. The average institutional investment size in neutral strategies is roughly 11 times that of directional strategies. In October, BTC fell 7.2%, but directional funds posted an average +1.9% positive return, while neutral strategies gained +1.0%, confirming active strategies’ resilience amid downturn pressure. Binance Research concludes that institutional preferences and the introduction of traditional structures are driving the crypto market toward maturity, yet allocators remain highly selective. Only a robust validation system and operational infrastructure can truly unlock inflows of active management capital.