[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Bitcoin custody firm Onramp has recently said a Bitcoin bear market could be seen as a buying opportunity for long-term investors. It argues that securing control over assets by directly holding spot Bitcoin is more important than financial products that simply track the price.

According to Bitcoin Magazine on July 20, Onramp said in its recently released “Back to Basics” report that Bitcoin is trading at about half its peak recorded in late 2025, while stocks and gold are still hovering near record highs.

Onramp said such a price gap could be read as a risk signal for ordinary assets, but given Bitcoin’s characteristics of limited supply and adoption still underway, it could instead be a favorable entry range for long-term investors.

The report laid out the investment case for Bitcoin on three pillars: Bitcoin’s fundamental value, the difference between holding spot and “Paper Bitcoin,” and data on whether the current market is suitable for long-term accumulation.

Onramp first cited Bitcoin’s biggest competitiveness as its supply capped at 21 million. It said fiat currencies can expand over time, diluting holders’ purchasing power, while Bitcoin has an issuance limit that anyone can verify.

It also said a fixed issuance schedule centered on the halving and a decentralized operating structure underpin the network’s reliability. It stressed that Bitcoin’s rules are maintained through consensus among node operators worldwide, not by a specific company or miner.

Onramp also offered a long-term view on price volatility. It said Bitcoin has suffered drops of more than 50 percent multiple times in the past, but has repeatedly rebounded to surpass previous peaks. It argued that rather than trying to predict the market bottom, a systematic investment strategy of buying steadily at set intervals could be more effective.

The report’s strongest concern was “Paper Bitcoin.” Onramp said many products traded under the name of Bitcoin in the market are not actual Bitcoin but merely claims on Bitcoin, such as ETF shares, exchange balances and structured products. It said those products may track price moves, but the involvement of intermediaries such as custodians, administrators and counterparties adds credit and operational risks that do not exist in Bitcoin itself.

By contrast, it stressed that individuals who hold spot Bitcoin directly can fully maintain control over their assets. It said managing private keys directly means true ownership, allows assets to be moved without third-party approval, and can reduce the risk that external institutions freeze or seize assets.

Onramp said if self-custody is difficult, a multi-institution custody method that disperses keys across multiple independent institutions could be an alternative. It said the structure is designed so that a single institution cannot move assets alone, reducing the risk that an outage or incident at one institution leads to a loss of all assets.

The report focused on investment principles rather than price forecasts. Onramp said the current downturn is relatively shallow compared with past cycles and that recoveries followed similar corrections. It also said that while stocks and gold trade near historical highs, Bitcoin alone is trading at a relatively discounted price, which it assessed as a positive environment for long-term investors.

Onramp recently raised $12.5 million to expand its platform and introduced a service that allows cash, Bitcoin and gold to be managed in a single account, but it said the report’s core was raising issues about custody methods rather than promoting the service.

Onramp said who controls actual Bitcoin is a more important issue than investing in financial products that only track the price. It stressed that with the market showing weakness, this is the time to return to Bitcoin’s basic principles.