Institutional Investors Fuel Bitcoins ATH Surge Amid Retail Investor Absence

The first cryptocurrency reached historic highs of over $118,000, yet retail investors seem to be «almost entirely absent.» This was stated by André Dragosh, head of research at Bitwise in Europe.

The expert pointed to a decline in interest for the search term «bitcoin» on Google.

According to Google Trends, during the week of July 6-12, the metric reached a level of 40. While this increased due to the recent rally, it is still far from the peak of 100 points recorded in November 2024, just before surpassing the $100,000 mark.

«The recent surge has primarily been driven by institutional investors,» Dragosh emphasized.

His remarks are supported by the inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the last trading days. On July 10 and 11, American spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.18 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively, bringing total inflows to a record $52.36 billion.

Ethereum funds also experienced significant inflows, with total amounts exceeding $5.3 billion since their inception.

Some participants in the crypto space suggested that the price of digital gold has become too steep for average investors.

«I think many retail traders see that one Bitcoin costs $117,000 and think, ‘No way, I’ve missed my chance,’ and don’t even consider [buying],» noted digital asset advocate Lindsay Stamp.

Discussing the matter, Bitcoin Matrix podcast host Cedric Youngelman expressed his belief that Bitcoin is «unlikely to rebound for retail investors anytime soon.»

According to Seamus Rocco, CEO of Xapo Bank, the market cycles of reaching new historic highs followed by deep corrections are still intact, contrary to common belief.

He considers the risk of a prolonged bear market to be very real and suggests that it doesn’t require a «catastrophic» event to trigger it. Simple factors like a general slowdown in news, the emergence of negative events, or routine portfolio rebalancing could trigger the next downturn.

«We all want to believe that Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation, and I do think it will eventually become one. But I’m not sure we’ve reached that point yet. I still see it as a highly risky asset. For now, the correlation between Bitcoin, the S&P 500 index, and stocks remains very strong,» Rocco explained.

In the expert’s view, a «contagion effect» could sweep all news off the market, leading the crypto sector to «exhaust its potential» during a natural and prolonged process.

«Many say, ‘Oh, institutional investors are here, so Bitcoin’s cyclicality is dead.’ I don’t completely agree with that,» Rocco stressed.

It’s worth mentioning that analysts from Santiment have indicated signs of the altcoin season beginning.