With $100,000 as the new normal, does the Bitcoin bull market no longer need retail investors to celebrate?

The current Bitcoin bull market feels "different" as retail investors are notably absent, unlike previous cycles where their enthusiasm was a driving force.
Despite Bitcoin's price holding above $100,000 for 100 days and breaking new all-time highs, there's no buzz from everyday investors like taxi drivers or teachers asking about buying in.
Google Trends shows declining search interest for Bitcoin, even lagging behind niche topics like "Japanese walks" or "Labubu dolls."
Institutional adoption has grown, with Bitcoin ETFs, presidential endorsements, and inclusion in retirement accounts, but retail participation remains low.
Some speculate retail investors may be avoiding the market after heavy losses in the last cycle or simply losing interest.
The absence of retail FOMO (fear of missing out) contrasts with Bitcoin's strong technical indicators, such as the 200-day moving average surpassing $100,000.
The shift toward institutional dominance raises questions about Bitcoin's original anti-establishment ethos, as long-term whales exit and corporations take larger roles.
Retail indifference persists even as Bitcoin transitions from speculative asset to a mainstream retirement and institutional diversification option.

Source: Cryptoslate

Compiled by: Blockchain Knight

This round of Bitcoin bull market always makes people feel "different".

More accurately, each Bitcoin bull run is unique, each cycle bringing new narratives and fresh blood. But throughout Bitcoin's history, one element remains constant: retail investors' enthusiasm for "free technology" and "financial freedom money." At least during Bitcoin's moonshot price surges, this has been the case.

Do you still remember the retail investors? Now there is only silence...

There's been absolutely no activity: no taxi drivers, no distant cousins, no kindergarten teachers asking if it's too late to buy Bitcoin. Despite analysts arguing that "altcoin season" is about to begin, I haven't even been asked about Fartcoin, Dogecoin, or Ripple. If you need any, I have a ready-made answer for that.

In short, the core problem is this: retail investors chose to skip this Bitcoin bull run, and it's not due to a lack of awareness. This time is different: between the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, the presidential push, and Larry Fink taking the helm of the World Economic Forum (WEF), retail investors have decided that this "game" is no longer for them.

With all due respect, Bitcoin may not be interesting anymore, or perhaps retail investors, having suffered heavy losses in the last bull run, have finally learned not to play with fire. No one is even casually searching for news about it: Google Trends shows that Bitcoin search interest is even lower than the faint peaks of "Japanese walks" and "Labubu dolls."

While “no one uses Google to search for things these days” may be one of the reasons, the silence of distant relatives and those working in the service industry is also evident.

You’d hardly realize it, but the leading cryptocurrency has held above $100,000 for 100 consecutive days—a milestone both psychological and epochal. Each time Bitcoin surpasses a key round number ($100, $1,000, $10,000) it’s been associated with a new wave of adoption, investment, and a hockey-stick-style price surge.

But this time, no one cared.

Not only is Bitcoin maintaining its sky-high price and continuously reaching new all-time highs, its technical support is also strengthening. Bitcoin's 200-day moving average has surpassed $100,000, a strong signal for traders and long-term holders.

In every Bitcoin bull run, a new round of gains often follows when both the price and the moving average break through and stabilize at historical resistance levels. But this time, retail investors were nowhere to be seen.

This cycle even eliminated some long-term Bitcoin whales, making room for those "corrosive institutions that Bitcoin is supposed to resist."

In 2025, a major shift also occurred in the field of retirement planning: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were legally included in mainstream retirement accounts, allowing tens of millions of Americans to directly accumulate "hard currency" for the future.

But retail investors remain indifferent.

They seem to be "packing their bags and heading to the virtual Bahamas," bluntly declaring, "We're not participating in this bull market." While Bitcoin has gradually evolved from a speculative investment to a standard component of retirement portfolios and a diversification option for institutions, the absence of retail investors is particularly regrettable.