Institutional investor sentiment toward bitcoin has fallen to its weakest level in the past two years.

According to blockchain media outlet Decrypt on Tuesday, the Coinbase premium index has stayed below zero for more than 900 cumulative hours, extending selling pressure on bitcoin from institutions and professional investors. Darkfost, a contributor to CryptoQuant, said the move is the longest institutional pessimism phase in the past two years.

The Coinbase premium index compares the bitcoin price on Coinbase Advanced, mainly used by institutions and professional investors, with the price on Binance, the largest exchange by spot and derivatives trading volume. A negative reading means bitcoin is trading at a lower price on Coinbase than on Binance.

Darkfost described this as a sign that selling pressure among institutional investors is stronger than in the broader market. He said the current stretch below zero, now exceeding 900 cumulative hours, is the longest case of institutional pessimism seen over the past two years.

Macroeconomic uncertainty was cited as a factor behind the deterioration in institutional sentiment. Darkfost said persistent inflation and high oil prices are adding to growth burdens, and uncertainty over monetary policy under new leadership at the U.S. Federal Reserve is also reducing institutions' appetite for risk assets. Unlike retail investors, institutional investors tend to reduce market exposure when uncertainty in macroeconomic and geopolitical factors grows, and that pattern is now appearing in the bitcoin market, he said.

Price action, however, has not moved completely in line with institutional positioning. Bitcoin is trading around $66,000, down 0.32 percent over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. It is up 1.78 percent over the past seven days. It is still down 27 percent year to date.

The fact that bitcoin has held on to weekly gains even as institutional selling continues is read as a sign that other market participants have absorbed a substantial portion of the sell orders. It means broader demand has partly absorbed institution-led selling pressure, supporting prices.

Even so, the prolonged negative Coinbase premium shows institutional sentiment remains cautious. Bitcoin's price is holding up, but it is too early to say risk appetite from institutional money has recovered. The market is expected to focus on whether the Coinbase premium turns higher and how macroeconomic uncertainty changes institutional fund flows.