[Digital Today reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen about 30 percent since a major market crash last October, and most institutional investors judge the current price range to be undervalued. By contrast, traditional safe havens gold and silver are surging, making a shift in funds more apparent.

Coinbase said in a recently released first-quarter crypto report that 70 percent of institutional investors surveyed responded that bitcoin is undervalued in the $85,000 to $95,000 range, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 26 (local time). The survey covered 75 institutional investors and 73 retail investors. It found 71 percent of institutions and 60 percent of retail investors said bitcoin is undervalued.

About 25 percent of institutional investors assessed bitcoin as fairly valued, while only 4 percent said it is overvalued. Bitcoin is trading at about $87,600, down more than 30 percent from its peak of $126,080 recorded last October.

Bitcoin has struggled to recover since a major market crash on Oct. 10. About $19 billion worth of leveraged positions were liquidated at the time, jolting the broader crypto market. Since then, prices have moved sideways or continued to decline. The analysis said U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are further weighing on investor sentiment.

Coinbase warned in the report that "geopolitical risks are expanding in multiple regions, and if events occur that disrupt energy markets, investor sentiment in the crypto market could worsen further."

In contrast, the preference for safe assets is becoming clearer. Gold recently topped $5,000 an ounce to set a record high, and silver has also doubled in market value since October. Over the same period, the S&P 500 index has risen about 3 percent.

Even so, institutional investors' medium- to long-term outlook appears relatively firm. Eighty percent of institutions that took part in the survey said they plan to maintain their existing positions or buy more even if the crypto market falls an additional 10 percent. More than 60 percent also said they have maintained or increased their share of crypto holdings since October.

Even so, market perceptions remain cautious. Fifty-four percent of institutional investors assessed the current crypto market as being in an accumulation stage or a bear-market phase. Coinbase forecast the U.S. Federal Reserve could carry out two interest rate cuts in 2026, which could have a positive effect on risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.

The U.S. economy, meanwhile, continues a relatively stable trend. The December consumer price index (CPI) held at 2.7 percent, and real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year came in above 5 percent.