Indicators show that retail investor interest is growing, but that interest is not there yet.
Is retail back?
Yes, but not completely.
According to K33 Research, 90-day website traffic to crypto exchanges increased 45% over the past quarter compared to the previous quarter. Similarly, his web traffic to data aggregation sites such as Coingecko and Coinmarketcap has also increased by 66%.
Vettle Runde, senior analyst at K33 Research, highlighted that both data points are significantly below the record set in summer 2022.
Another interesting data point is Google searches. The word Bitcoin has a score of 100 points and has been on a significant upward trend since October 2023. However, searches for “how to buy Bitcoin” do not receive the same interest. Despite some good momentum, the score remains at 74.
Notably, Google searches for Ethereum show more interest than Bitcoin. He received a score of 82 on “How to Buy Ethereum,” which predicts an upward trend.
Crypto apps are also a sign of interest from retail investors.
9 Spot Bitcoin ETFs Before Launch Billions piled up Coinbase, which entered the market, ranked 498th in app usage as of January 1, according to data from The Block. It rose rapidly to a recent peak of 49 on March 5 and has since fallen to 123.
Although CashApp offers a number of banking services beyond digital assets, it remains the top crypto financial app. According to Similarweb, it ranks 17th in the US.
Wen Alt season?
Retail investors are slowly but surely returning to the market, but interest is far from peaking.
Judging by the usage of Coinbase, which reached number one across all apps and marked the top of the last bullish cycle, retail investors appear to be reluctant to fully commit to buying cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, some are asking when the full-fledged alternatives season will begin, especially since the funds associated with Bitcoin ETFs are likely to remain in those products.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hogan pointed out that we are in “all seasons” thanks to Bitcoin's rapid rise. Hogan also pointed out that the additional catalyst is the technology infrastructure, which has now been “significantly improved.”
He expects things like Ethereum's upcoming Dencun upgrade and the rise of L2 to increase adoption and, in turn, drive up prices.
Everyone agrees, at least in the bull camp, that we are in the early stages. Interest in full-fledged retail business has not yet reached that point.
