Data provided by JP Morgan, retail investors have bought over 187,000 Bitcoins this quarter utilizing Square and PayPal.
Retail investors put together, according to the report, are even surpassing institutional purchases. JPMorgan has estimated that institutions have bought 173,000 Bitcoins during the same time frame.
JP Morgan has assessed fund flows from several retail platforms and institutional level exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in addition to statements from big funds disclosing their Bitcoin purchases to arrive at the above figures.
Ed Moya, Senior market analyst at Oanda Corp, credited the retail interest to social media platforms, stimulus payouts and the current NFT craze. He said Bloomberg:
“Now, with the Reddit-fueled meme stock craze cooling and novelties such as digital artwork setting records, retail traders — some now armed with $1,400 stimulus checks — are taking control.”
While “meme-stock” trading has caused huge losses to retail traders, Bitcoin has withstood the test of time and stayed extremely bullish. Brian Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors, opined that retail demand has been led by fear of missing out (FOMO) following the latest swing of institutional investment in Bitcoin.
Data published by crypto market focused Glassnode seems to affirm that retail investors are entering the fray in considerable manner. On March 15, Glassnode has pointed out a surge in networth of entities, stating:
“This is a strong indication that new retail investors have been entering the space.”