tl;dr
In October, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market rose by 13% to $2.3 trillion, indicating increased retail investor activity in derivatives trading rather than spot trading. Retail demand for Bitcoin increased by 13% over the past 30 days, with a surge in active stablecoin addresse...
In October, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market rose by 13% to $2.3 trillion, indicating increased retail investor activity in derivatives trading rather than spot trading. Retail demand for Bitcoin increased by 13% over the past 30 days, with a surge in active stablecoin addresses reaching a three-year high. While spot trading volumes remained stable, derivatives trading volume surpassed $260 billion by October, suggesting a preference for derivatives among retail investors. Despite this, Google trends show minimal retail interest in crypto, with retail investors potentially focusing more on derivative trading than spot trading.
Sponsored By tracking Bitcoin transactions valued under $10,000, it’s possible to gauge retail investor demand. Data from CryptoQuant suggests that retail demand tends to fuel Bitcoin’s price increase. Over the past 30 days, retail demand grew by 13%, following four consecutive months of negative growth. Analyst Caueconomy suggests that this mirrors the scenario seen in March. “In the last 30 days, retail demand grew by about 13%, highlighting a scenario that was only seen in March, when we were close to the last historical high… This recent rise in Bitcoin is causing small investors to return to trading, signaling the beginning of a pattern of lower risk aversion,” Caueconomy commented. Additionally, the number of active stablecoin addresses per week in October reached a new three-year high, reflecting the vibrancy in stablecoin trading.
Despite a noticeable rise in retail on-chain activity, spot trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) remained stable. CoinMarketCap data shows that daily spot trading volumes on exchanges hovered between $50 billion and $100 billion. However, derivatives trading volume surged over the past two months. By October, total Open Interest exceeded $260 billion, the highest in a year. This suggests retail investors may be more inclined towards derivatives than spot trading. On the flip side, investor Lark Davis observed that interest in crypto searches has not seen a significant breakthrough. This indicates that if retail investors have returned, they are mostly focused on derivative trading. “Current Google trends show minimal retail interest in crypto. Retail is sleeping while institutions are stacking,” Davis remarked.