Bitcoin is rising, but small investors are not. Why?

Bitcoin reached an impressive $65,000, but that high price lasted only four days. Today, the cryptocurrency star is fluctuating around $63,700. Its modest decline raises questions about small investors’ participation in this market. But it wasn’t the big returns of small investors that drove this rise. So where is the activity of retail traders?

Bitcoin: A rally without small investors?

During the bull runs of 2017 and 2021, small investors were everywhere, and sometimes under great pressure. The evidence? The Coinbase app was at the top of the download rankings. Now, Coinbase has fallen to 438th place, far lower than its ranking at the previous market peak. The signal is clear: small investors are conspicuously absent.

Taking the Bitpanda platform as an example (this link uses an affiliate program), the transfer volume also confirms this trend. Transactions below $100,000, which are usually performed by individuals, are now only half of what they were at the last peak in 2024. Therefore, the signal is red: the individual craze seems to have gone away.

Retail transactions have halved since the 2024 peak; Coinbase is ranked 438th; Short-term holders (STH) hold 2.5 million tokens.

Cryptocurrency Traders: Goodbye to the Short-Term Holder (STH) Hype?

"Short-term holders" (STH), those who bought Bitcoin within 155 days, traditionally play a big role at market peaks. When STH hold a large amount of BTC, it usually means the end of the frenzy. But surprisingly, the opposite is happening this time. The amount of Bitcoin held by these speculators is declining. This rally seems to have happened without them. Transaction fees are also at their lowest level, generating only $500,000 per day, far lower than the peak of trading.

Some analysts noted that "retail investors are quieter than ever," suggesting that a potential rally has yet to come and individual investors are not as enthusiastic as usual. Many analysts believe that it is normal for short-term traders to abandon the Bitcoin ship when they see the situation stagnating.

The article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.