Bitcoin Nears $100K as Retail Investors Fuel Market Momentum

Bitcoin (BTC) and the rest of the crypto market have been booming since Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election on November 5. While institutional capital has played an instrumental role in the current rally, retail investors are not far behind.

Bitcoin Retail Investors

New data points to a sharp rise in retail investors entering the Bitcoin market. This is evident by Bitcoin’s Spent Output Value Bands (SOVB) data shared by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju which revealed that transaction volumes under $100K have surged to a three-year high.

This trend is represented by the dominance of smaller transaction bands, which essentially points to an increased participation from retail investors rather than large institutional players. The spike aligns with Bitcoin’s recent price appreciation.

Meanwhile, there’s also been a rise in Bitcoin transactions over $1 million. The exec believes large investors might be waiting for more retail buyers to enter the market, especially as Bitcoin nears $100K.

While some price corrections are possible, he doesn’t think they’ll lead to a bear market. Instead, he sees this as the start of bigger market activity driven by growing retail and institutional interest.

Bitcoin Has A Long Way To Go

Bitcoin’s recent climb to a new all-time high above $90,000 has sparked optimism. After a brief profit-taking, the crypto asset appears to be flirting with this milestone. As such, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes that Bitcoin has “a long way to go.”

In a recent interview, Wood noted that ARK Invest first invested in Bitcoin at $250 in 2015, and even at $90,000, she remains bullish. She attributes Bitcoin’s momentum to increasing regulatory clarity under the current US administration.

The exec also added that Bitcoin is emerging as a distinct asset class, with institutions recognizing its unique behavior compared to traditional investments, which has successfully fueled its broader adoption and allocation. She expects Bitcoin to reach $650,000 by 2030.

Quinn Thompson, the founder of crypto hedge fund Lekker Capital, echoed a similar sentiment that Bitcoin is just getting started and even predicted that it would soon hit the highly anticipated $100,000 milestone. While he is confident this will happen by the end of the year, he also believes it might occur as early as the end of this month. Speaking to Fortune, Thompson said,

“The market is realizing just how big of a regime shift is underway. The US government and regulatory bodies, the strongest entities in the world, are now moving away from an anti-crypto stance to one of embrace.”