- Retail investor demand for Bitcoin has surged to its highest level since 2020, boosting market optimism.
- Increasing institutional interest suggested a potential push toward the psychological $100,000 level.
Bitcoin [BTC] appeared to be gradually regaining momentum after a period of minimal price movement last week.
Over the past day, the cryptocurrency has registered a 1.3% increase, bringing its trading price to $96,714 at the time of writing.
This latest upward move has pushed Bitcoin’s market cap to $1.915 trillion, accompanied by a 24-hour trading volume of $92.1 billion.
These indicators point to a strong market presence as the asset approaches a critical psychological milestone of $100,000.
Amid this price-performance, new facts highlighted the increasing interest of retail investors in Bitcoin.
According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, Bitcoin’s 30-day change in retail demand has reached its highest level since 2020.
The analyst attributes this increase to growing retail participation, which often indicates increased market involvement.
Historically, such retail activity has preceded local price increases, but it also highlights broader interest that could fuel continued momentum when combined with institutional investment.
Retail demand and key market indicators
The surge in retail interest coincided with Bitcoin entering a sideways trading phase.
Darkfost noted that while retail demand could weaken during this period of range-bound trading, a break above the $100,000 resistance level could reignite retail enthusiasm.
Such a move could trigger a euphoric phase in the market, creating strong positive momentum.
Source: CryptoQuant
However, he cautioned that maintaining the balance between private and institutional activities remains critical to sustaining market growth, as institutional participation provides long-term support.
Meanwhile, data from Mint glass showed that Bitcoin Open Interest rose 1.66% before falling 1.77%, reaching a publishing valuation of $78.46 billion.
Source: Coinglass
The Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), another key indicator tracked by Glassnode, was 1.02 at the time of writing. For the uninitiated, the SOPR measures whether Bitcoin holders are selling at a profit or a loss.
A SOPR value above 1 generally indicates that investors are selling at a profit, reflecting bullish sentiment. However, the relatively low margin above 1 suggests a phase of consolidation rather than a large-scale rally.
Source: Glassnode
Outlook for Bitcoin as $100,000 approaches
Increasing retail demand has led to speculation about whether Bitcoin could soon break the $100,000 barrier.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2024–2025
Interestingly enough, previous reports from AMBCrypto suggested that Retail participation was moderateas evidenced by the Korea Premium Index, which remained below -0.5.
This implied that retail activity was not a significant driver of the previous price increase. However, with retail interest now increasing, the market could shift, paving the way for Bitcoin to reach this milestone.