INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Bitcoin (BTC) cannot move higher because retail investor demand is drying up
Onchain data seems to support this narrative: Small wallet activity is at a multi-year low
But is this really the full picture?Perhaps retail is still here, just not where we used to look
This cycle, a big part of retail demand may be flowing through TradFi rails: spot ETFs, pension funds and brokerage accounts
If ETFs are counted as retail, it may change how the Bitcoin market is understood.Who is buying the spot Bitcoin ETFs?Since the launch of
spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US in January 2024, Bitcoin has entered the portfolios of clients who might never have held it directly, due to a
lack of technical confidence or unwillingness to manage self-custody.Institutions also buy ETFs for their regulatory clarity and ease of
Among them, investment advisers and hedge funds are the biggest ETF holders, managing Bitcoin exposure on behalf of both retail and
Banks, insurers, and pension funds are also stepping in, not only holding BTC but offering exposure to their customers as well.Collectively,
ETF shareholders now own approximately $135 billion in Bitcoin.Spot Bitcoin ETFs assets under management
Source: CoinGlassAccording to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, investment advisers account for nearly half of the $21 billion in assets
Hedge funds follow with $6.9 billion worth of ETF shares (about 83,934 BTC), followed by brokerages and holding companies.Top spot BTC ETF
Source: Bloomberg IntelligenceThe CoinShares report adds color: Goldman Sachs leads among financial advisers with $1.8 billion invested,
while Millennium Management tops hedge funds with $1.6 billion.F13 filers ranked by type, Q1 2025
image of a small retail wallet stacking sats
This is evident in the most recent 13F filings in the US which still indicate that the percentage of retail investors in US spot Bitcoin
This may be the new reality of the Bitcoin market: New retail demand prefers to keep its Bitcoin in a brokerage account, and not a
apparent demand peaked around $1.6 million, double the combined ETF and Strategy inflows
Today, with ETF flows steady, that figure has flipped to negative territory, plunging to -$857,000.BTC apparent demand
The market may need a major catalyst, such as interest rate cuts, to reignite demand
Such a trigger would primarily benefit institutions and their clients, who now play an increasingly central role in the Bitcoin
While wealthier US investors may opt for exposure via BlackRock and peers, retail participants in places like Nigeria or Argentina will
And in the right conditions, it could still reemerge.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should
not be taken as legal or investment advice
