Retail Investors Can’t Get Enough of Bitcoin as FOMO Creeps In on Every Fall

The cryptocurrency sector has experienced turbulent times in the past three years. After a humongous 2017 bull run and 2018 crypto winter, markets have finally started coming out of the shadows. Retail investors are now accumulating more Bitcoins.

What is the reason behind this trend?

Retail investors are experiencing FOMO or fear of missing out. As the price of Bitcoin is increasing, and the coin looks fundamentally strong. Investors are expecting the coin to burst out into a bull run once again. The Bitcoin network will also undergo mining rewards halving this year.

The number of Bitcoin wallet addresses holding at least 1 BTC has increased rapidly, suggesting a big move from retail investors towards accumulating more of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Currently, Bitcoin is finding it hard to sustain over the $10,000 levels, but its recent high of $10,200 shows that there is the hope of a breakout bullish pattern in the market.

Could more volatility enter the crypto markets?

Thanks to the increasing engagement in Bitcoin, open interest in the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchanges have been around $1 billion in the past one week. This suggests high anticipation for increased market volatility amongst traders. Typically, Bitcoin reward halving leads to increased market engagement and volatility. As the next halving will occur in May, trader activity can be attributed to this important factor. This activity is further enhancing the fundamentals in the market alongside strong price action and a robust hash rate.

According to Glassnode, the number of small Bitcoin accounts is growing at a rapid pace. It noted,

“The number of Bitcoin addresses holding over 1 BTC is growing quickly, showing no signs of slowing down. After a sharp drop 3 months ago, we’ve surpassed the highs of November, and an all-time high is just ~2000 addresses away.”

With this increasing buy pressure, it seems likely that the price of Bitcoin will keep going up in the next few weeks and months, especially around May.