Over the past year, Bitcoin [BTC], the world’s largest crypto has seen immense volatility. The bears were constantly pushing the asset down and the whole FTX debacle drove the price of BTC to a low of $15,599. Amidst this, a plethora of addresses was pocketing BTC at discounted prices. This group was mostly those who entailed less than 10 BTC or as Glassnode defines them “retail investors”.
The co-founder of Reflexivity Research Will Clemente pointed out that the percentage of Bitcoin supply held by retail investors had surged by 17 percent this year.
Elaborating on the same, Clemente tweeted,
“Not perfect yet, but solid for a 12-year-old asset and definitely trending in the right direction. Bitcoin’s supply disperses over time, while Fiat’s holder base concentrates to whales over time.”
It should be noted that addresses that currently hold 0-10 BTC were worth $169,000. These addresses account for 17.3 percent of the total supply.
Is this the start of a Bitcoin retail investor takeover?
Bitcoin was formulated and released many for the use of the Average Joe. Satoshi Nakamoto wanted to bring financial freedom while steering away from centralized entities. Sadly, more than retail investors institutional investors were making the most out of BTC. Bloomberg previously reported that a mere 2 percent of addresses control 95 percent of Bitcoin.
A lot has changed throughout the bear market. With Bitcoin selling at discounted prices, retail investors were on a purchasing spree. As seen in the above chart, retail investors holding BTC supply were at an all-time high. While several saw this as a positive sign, a few others expressed concerns.
Retail investors entered the picture during the bear market. The chances of this notion persisting cannot be negated. However, economic conditions like recession and inflation could hinder this streak. Nansen even revealed that the ongoing bearish conditions could be carried on to 2023 as well. The report read,
“Given the Fed’s determination to maintain tightening for longer, our key scenario for 2023 is a US recession and a US equity sell-off. Crypto prices could experience one further [perhaps final] drop in this cycle before interest rates turn more favorable.”