Stop viewing this year's crypto market through last year's perspective. While you're still concerned about Bitcoin's 5.4% micro decline within the year, institutional players have already completed multi-billion-dollar chip operations—this is no longer just simple price fluctuation but a deep transformation of the market's power structure. Participants who miss this cycle's evolution will be ruthlessly left behind in the new phase.
Having worked in this industry for many years, I must say a very striking fact: 2025 is becoming the "retail restructuring period" for the crypto market. The data is clear: retail investors sold a total of 247,000 Bitcoins throughout the year, worth over 160 billion RMB; trading volume in small transactions ($0-$1 range) plummeted by 66.38%; search interest also declined, hitting an 11-month low. The retail army that used to discuss market trends late into the night in various chat groups has now fallen silent, with only ads and bots remaining.
In contrast, institutional actions are becoming increasingly aggressive. The net inflow into spot ETFs for the year reached $25 billion, with total assets surpassing $114 billion. Among them, BlackRock's fund performed the strongest, going from 0 to $50 billion in 228 days, setting a new speed record for similar products. Currently, its holdings have reached 800,000 Bitcoins, making it the largest institutional holder.
Breaking down the logic behind this, institutions are not betting on short-term rises or falls when they buy Bitcoin; they are integrating it into a broader macro asset allocation framework. We used to call Bitcoin "digital gold," but that was just a story; what truly gives this story vitality is the influx of real capital from institutional investors. The latest data on institutional holdings shows that 86% of professional investors are already or planning to allocate to digital asset classes.
The significance of this shift is much deeper than it appears on the surface.
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ApeShotFirst
· 4h ago
All the retail investors have left, and in the group, it's really just robots chatting haha
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SmartMoneyWallet
· 4h ago
Retail investors being ruthlessly pushed out now seems to be a certainty. 247,000 Bitcoins have just flowed into institutional hands. To put it simply, it's a major transfer of chips.
BlackRock's 50 billion in 228 days—this growth rate is indeed outrageous, but I'm more concerned about whether they will continue to pour money in the future.
The remaining bots and advertisements in the group—what does that indicate? It shows that the real game is no longer at the retail level.
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MidnightTrader
· 4h ago
Retail investors have all left, leaving only us here to dawdle.
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BlackRock's speed is truly ruthless.
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I should have just ignored the candlestick charts and focused on institutional movements.
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160 billion has gone out, but who has it all ended up in?
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This wave is really big fish eating small fish, no doubt about it.
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86% of institutions are deploying, and we're still debating whether to buy or not.
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The group is indeed dead, full of bots that just spam invites.
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It took only 228 days to go from 0 to 50 billion; this speed is terrifying.
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I just want to know where retail investors are now.
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The story of digital gold can only be fully told with real money.
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GraphGuru
· 4h ago
Retail investors have all left; this time is truly different.
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MemeKingNFT
· 4h ago
Retail investors are silent while institutions are fierce. This wave truly can't be understood without taking a hit...
View OriginalReply0
degenwhisperer
· 5h ago
Retail investors are dead; institutions are the true kings. It's about time to wake up.
Stop viewing this year's crypto market through last year's perspective. While you're still concerned about Bitcoin's 5.4% micro decline within the year, institutional players have already completed multi-billion-dollar chip operations—this is no longer just simple price fluctuation but a deep transformation of the market's power structure. Participants who miss this cycle's evolution will be ruthlessly left behind in the new phase.
Having worked in this industry for many years, I must say a very striking fact: 2025 is becoming the "retail restructuring period" for the crypto market. The data is clear: retail investors sold a total of 247,000 Bitcoins throughout the year, worth over 160 billion RMB; trading volume in small transactions ($0-$1 range) plummeted by 66.38%; search interest also declined, hitting an 11-month low. The retail army that used to discuss market trends late into the night in various chat groups has now fallen silent, with only ads and bots remaining.
In contrast, institutional actions are becoming increasingly aggressive. The net inflow into spot ETFs for the year reached $25 billion, with total assets surpassing $114 billion. Among them, BlackRock's fund performed the strongest, going from 0 to $50 billion in 228 days, setting a new speed record for similar products. Currently, its holdings have reached 800,000 Bitcoins, making it the largest institutional holder.
Breaking down the logic behind this, institutions are not betting on short-term rises or falls when they buy Bitcoin; they are integrating it into a broader macro asset allocation framework. We used to call Bitcoin "digital gold," but that was just a story; what truly gives this story vitality is the influx of real capital from institutional investors. The latest data on institutional holdings shows that 86% of professional investors are already or planning to allocate to digital asset classes.
The significance of this shift is much deeper than it appears on the surface.