Here’s what it means according to CryptoQuant

Although the demand for bitcoin among large investors is increasing as time goes by, the smaller players in the market are lagging behind.

According to a report by CryptoQuant, holdings of retail bitcoin investors are growing at a historically slow pace, although this cohort of players is gradually returning to the market amid BTC’s climb to the $70,000 level.

The holdings of retail investors are growing slowly

In the last 30 days, retail bitcoin holdings have increased by just 1,000 BTC. The total assets of this group of market participants have also increased by 18,000 BTC since July 3, when it registered a local fund. At the time of writing, retail investors held 1.753 million BTC, slightly down from the record 1.765 million at the end of 2023.

Since May 2023, when retail holdings grew by 27,000, these investors’ balances have been shrinking. Before this period of decline in holdings, retail investors saw moments of high growth: market recovery in April 2020 after the fall of the COVID-19, the previous bull cycle in April of 2021 and the 2022 bear market after the fall of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. .

Currently, the largest bitcoin investors have overtaken retail players. The holdings of the largest entities are growing at a faster rate than retail investors, with the former adding 173,000 BTC to their stash since the beginning of the year. On the other hand, the latter have increased their holdings by only 30,000 BTC since the year.

“Retail investors saw their holdings increase significantly in the bear market of 2022, when they peaked at an annual growth rate of 347K Bitcoin,” noted CryptoQuant.

Low BTC transfer activity

Slow growth among retail investors can also be seen in their overall BTC transfer activity on exchanges, which has fallen from 2,700 BTC in the first half of 2023 to 2,000 BTC in the second half and now 1,400 BTC in 2024. CryptoQuant says that this indicates that retail investors have not been aggressively selling their assets, reflecting their weak BTC purchases.

Also, daily bitcoin transfers by retail investors are at their lowest levels. The volume of such transfers was $326 million in mid-September, the lowest level seen since 2020.

Interestingly, analysts said historical data shows low BTC transfer activity among retail investors prior to price hikes; therefore, the current state of smaller bitcoin investors could be a positive sign.

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