Main to remember::
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Onchain’s metrics suggest that retail investors are asleep, but AUM des ETF develops
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Retail investors hold the majority of Spot Bitcoin ETF shares, either directly or indirectly through investment advisers and desire funds acting on their behalf.
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Direct demand from retail investors can be dormant but not dead, especially outside the United States, where self-pupil is essential.
There is a generalized hypothesis that Bitcoin (BTC) cannot evolve, because the demand of retail investors is dried up. Onchain’s data seem to support this story: the activity of the small portfolio is a multi -year hollow. But is it really the full image?
Maybe the retail trade is still there, but not where we were looking at. This cycle, a large part of the retail request can circulate in the Tradfi rails: ETF spot, pension fund and brokerage accounts. If FNBs are counted as retail, this can change the way the bitcoin market is included.
Who buys ETF Bitcoin Spot?
Since the launch of Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States in January 2024, Bitcoin has entered the wallets of customers who have never been maintained directly, due to a lack of technical confidence or a reluctance to manage the self-care.
Institutions also buy FNB for their regulatory clarity and their ease of accounting. Among them, investment advisers and hedge funds are the largest FNB holders, managing the Bitcoin exhibition on behalf of retail and businesses. Banks, insurers and pension funds also work, not only holding BTC, but also offer an exhibition to their customers.
Collectively, ETF shareholders now have around $ 135 billion in Bitcoin.
According to Bloomberg analyst, Eric Balchunas, placement advisers represent almost half of the $ 21 billion in assets reported through documents 13F – a growing subset of the total exposure of ETFs which now represents around 20% of all ETF titles. The Hedge Funds follow with $ 6.9 billion in ETF shares (around 83,934 BTC), followed by brokerage houses and portfolio companies.
The Coinshares report adds color: Goldman Sachs leads among financial advisers with $ 1.8 billion invested, while Millennium Management exceeds hedge funds with $ 1.6 billion.
FNBs are also retail, in a way
It is tempting to classify Flows ETF as purely institutional, unlike the familiar image of a small retail portfolio Sats. From this objective, yes – the request for directed details has practically disappeared.
Like André Dragosch, Bitwise’s chief of research, said Cointelegraph,
“The retail sale was the main distributor of Bitcoin in 2025 so far, on the basis of our calculations. Meanwhile, public companies as well as funds and ETPs were the greatest source of Bitcoin request in 2025.”
However, Dragosch added that
“It is certainly true that retail participation is also strongly expressed via ETP / ETF, because these investment vehicles remain strongly dominated by the retail trade.
Thus, if the final holder on the one hand of the BTC ETF is a retail customer, it may be time to reconsider the way in which onchain’s data is interpreted. This is perhaps the new reality of the Bitcoin market: the new request for detail preserves its bitcoin in a brokerage account, not an auto-us portfolio. Although antithetics in the original ethics of Bitcoin, this approach calls on many of those who nevertheless believe in its investment thesis.
The explosive success of ETF Spot is proof of the interest of retail, even if it does not register in onchain. According to Bloomberg, Bloomberg, a phenomenon phenomenon phenomenon (IVV), according to Bloomberg – a phenomenon phenomenon phenomenon (IVV).
In relation: Why can’t the price of bitcoin break the summits of $ 112,000? BTC analysts explain
Why can’t Bitcoin reach new heights?
However, even with the request of the FNB, the price of Bitcoin remains under pressure.
As illustrated by the cryptocurrency graphic, in January 2025, the apparent demand for Bitcoin culminated around 1.6 million dollars, double of combined ETFs and strategy entries. Today, with stable ETF flows, this figure overturned on a negative territory, plunging $ 857,000.
In other words, current entries – even with ETF – are not sufficient to compensate for the current outings. The market may need a major catalyst, such as interest rate drops, to revive demand. Such a trigger would mainly benefit institutions and their customers, who now play an increasingly central role in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Alexandre Stachtchenko, Director of the Paymium strategy of French Crypto Exchange, recognizes this change:
“Finally, retail will have to go through tradfi rails, this is my longtime conviction.”
However, he clarifies that this does not mean that the request for direct detail will disappear. Although wealthy American investors can opt for an exhibition via Blackrock and their peers, participants in retail in places like Nigeria or Argentina will probably continue to buy and hold BTC directly.
So maybe the direct retail request has not disappeared – just become silent. And under the right conditions, he could still reappear.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and must not be considered as legal or investment advice. The points of view, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are the only of the author and do not reflect or do not necessarily represent the opinions and opinions of Cointellegraph.
