Crypto pundit Luca has provided insights into why this Bitcoin bull market feels different from other market cycles. As part of his commentary, he also described this bull market as a new era, with a shift occurring that could sideline retail investors.
In an X post, Luca agreed with market participants who have declared that this Bitcoin bull market feels different. He explained that in previous cycles, as the Bitcoin price climbed, active addresses surged alongside it, as retail investors flooded in to invest in the flagship cryptocurrency. However, this market cycle is different.
The crypto pundit noted that active addresses are declining this time around, indicating that there isn’t much interest in BTC from retail investors in this Bitcoin bull market. Luca remarked that there are fewer retail participants, which is why Google searches for “Bitcoin” are at the same levels they were in the bear market.
Luca stated that institutional players like Michael Saylor’s Strategy are now taking over, and move differently from retail investors. He suggested that this is why there are fewer wallets, larger holdings, and less noise in this Bitcoin bull market. The pundit asserted that this shift isn’t just a detail but a structural change in how the market moves. He added that this isn’t just another cycle but a new era.
Indeed, this Bitcoin bull market has been different as it is the first with major involvement from institutional investors. Other companies have begun to adopt Saylor’s strategy, like Semler Scientific and Metaplanet, by establishing a BTC Treasury. Meanwhile, institutional adoption has also occurred through the Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock’s IBIT recently became the fastest ETF to hit the $70 billion mark in assets under management (AuM). This highlights the massive interest in BTC from Wall Street investors.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas once made a case for how institutional adoption in this Bitcoin bull market has helped stabilize the BTC price. In an X post, he opined that the positive inflows, especially from BlackRock’s IBIT, explain why the flagship crypto has been stable. The analyst added that the new BTC owners are more stable.
Balchunas also stated that over the last 15 months, ETFs and Saylor have been buying all the ‘dumps’ from the “tourists. FTX refugees, GBTC discounters, legal unlocks, and government confiscations.” Essentially, there has been a significant shift in ownership, with retail investors leaving the scene and institutional investors coming on board.
He added that Saylor is obviously not selling and that the ETF investors are much stronger hands than most think. The analyst opined that this should increase stability and lower volatility and correlation in the long term.
At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $104,400, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.