Markets
Retail remains absent as prices rise
Worldwide Internet searches for Bitcoin have notably fallen to market lows despite the asset’s prices surpassing $71,000 this week.
Search interest in Bitcoin spiked in March when the asset reached an all-time high, but has since fallen to 2023 levels, according to to Google Trends.
Bitcoin’s price has become completely free of search traffic, noted tech entrepreneur Mike Alfred in an X post on June 6. This led to the conclusion that retail has not yet joined the party and that market dynamics have been driven by institutional investors.
“But the simple fact is that this has been an institutionally driven bull market and we may still be early in the process.”
Social sentiment decreases
The findings were echoed by crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, who compared crypto YouTube views to previous cycles on June 6. When Bitcoin closed at $70,000 in the 2021 market cycle, related content from YouTube and content providers were getting about 4 million views per day, according to the figures. However, when BTC surpassed $70,000 in 2024, YouTube views were only around 800,000.
“Retail is not back yet,” said the analyst, who added: “This cycle has been much more difficult to navigate than previous bull runs for most market participants.” Additionally, altcoins underperformed, which impacted market sentiment.
“Altcoins have significantly underperformed Bitcoin, creating a discrepancy between sentiment and price.”
Social sentiment is largely controlled by retail, which turns to cryptocurrencies and social media for news, updates, trading tips, etc. Institutional traders depend on fund managers to do the work for them.
Despite the lack of retail involvement, the Bitcoin “Fear and Greed” Index remains planted in the green with an “extreme greed” reading of 78.
Crypto Market Outlook
Total market capitalization remained stable over the last 24 hours at $2.77 trillion. It was driven on June 4th solely by Bitcoin, which reached a intraday maximum of $71,740.
The asset retreated slightly during Asian morning trading on Thursday, to trade at just over $71,000 at the time of writing.
Ethereum gained 1% on the day to reach $3,850 and altcoins remain a mixed bag with more red than green for most of them.