- Retail investor demand for Bitcoin has surged to its highest level since 2020, boosting market optimism.
- Rising institutional interest suggested a potential push toward the $100K psychological level.
Bitcoin [BTC] appeared to be gradually regaining its momentum after a period of minimal price movement last week.
Over the past day, the cryptocurrency has registered a 1.3% increase, bringing its trading price to $96,714 at the time of writing.
This latest upward move has pushed Bitcoin’s market capitalization to $1.915 trillion, accompanied by a 24-hour trading volume of $92.1 billion.
These indicators suggest a strong market presence as the asset approaches a critical psychological milestone of $100,000.
Amid this price performance, new data highlighted increasing retail investor interest in Bitcoin.
According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, Bitcoin’s 30-day retail demand change has reached its highest level since 2020.
The analyst attributes this surge to growing retail participation, which often signals heightened market engagement.
Historically, such retail activity has preceded local price tops, but it also highlights a broader interest that could fuel sustained momentum when combined with institutional investments.
Retail demand and key market indicators
The surge in retail interest coincided with Bitcoin entering a sideways trading phase.
Darkfost noted that while retail demand could decline during this period of range-bound trading, a break above the $100,000 resistance level could reignite retail enthusiasm.
Such a move might trigger a euphoric phase in the market, creating strong positive momentum.
Source: CryptoQuant
However, he cautioned that monitoring the balance between retail and institutional activity remains critical to sustaining market growth, as institutional participation provides long-term support.
Meanwhile, data from Coinglass showed that Bitcoin’s Open Interest had increased by 1.66% before declining by 1.77%, reaching a press time valuation of $78.46 billion.
Source: Coinglass
The Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), another important indicator tracked by Glassnode, was 1.02 atthe time of writing. For the uninitiated, the SOPR measures whether Bitcoin holders are selling at a profit or a loss.
A SOPR value above 1 typically indicates that investors are selling at a profit, reflecting bullish sentiment. However, the relatively low margin above 1 suggests a phase of consolidation rather than a full-scale rally.
Source: Glassnode
Outlook for Bitcoin as $100K approaches
The increasing retail demand has sparked speculation about whether Bitcoin can soon break the $100,000 barrier.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024–2025
Interestingly, previous reports from AMBCrypto suggested that retail participation had been subdued, as reflected in the Korea Premium Index, which remained below -0.5.
This implied that retail activity was not a significant driver of the earlier price surge. However, with retail interest now rising, the market could shift, paving the way for Bitcoin to achieve this milestone.
