Despite the collapse this year of several major crypto companies, small retail and long-term investors are currently holding more Bitcoin than ever.
The crypto market is still alive. The on-chain data paints a positive picture, even though the price of BTC is 75% below the last all-time high.
According to on-chain analysis by Glassnode, the share of BTC supply held by retail traders (small individual investors) has reached a new record at 17%. The company defines retail traders as investors holding less than 10 coins. Also, according to the graph presented by Glassnode, the share of this group has recently skyrocketed.
Commenting on this development, Will Clemente, co-founder of Reflexivity Research said:
“While not perfect, this is a solid development for a 12-year-old asset and definitely heading in the right direction.”
Bitcoin holders remain determined?
Retail investors are usually the first to panic sell to the media during a market downturn or FUD (“Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt”) period. This certainly happened in 2022, as in 2018 after the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) crisis.
Additionally, retail investors usually only step in when the bull market is already fully established. Long-term and institutional investors are a little more cautious, accumulating down a cycle – so now.
A recent report from Coinbase Institutional shows that Long-term Bitcoin investors currently hold 85% of the circulating BTC supply.
Glassnode confirmed the results: Hodler’s holdings hit a new all-time high this month at 13.9 million BTC. Thus, long-term oriented holders hold approximately 72.3% of the outstanding supply. However, the company also defines them as investors who hold the digital asset for more than 180 days.
Coinbase further stated that in 2023, investors will favor “high-quality assets” over altcoins. Institutional investors should primarily choose BTC and ETH over the next few months until the current liquidity issues are resolved.
Crypto Market Update
Crypto markets mostly moved sideways, but saw small gains. Currently, the total market capitalization is $844 billion, which is not far from last month’s low.
Analysts overwhelmingly believe that the market will continue to experience low volatility and a sideways phase through 2023.
For 2023, Coinbase analysts predict:
“We rate the likelihood of a decoupling of crypto market performance from traditional risk assets in the early months of 2023 as low.”
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