Where are retail investors?

After a brief decline below $2,500, Ethereum bounced back to above the mark. The second-largest cryptocurrency price jumped almost 8% last week.

Despite the greater growth in the cryptocurrency market, retail investor activity in Ethereum remains particularly soft.

Ethereum’s retail absence

Historically, Ethereum has peaked in retail trade frequency near local price increases, especially during the 2021 Bull run. However, according to the latest analysis of crypto volume, this pattern does not exist in the current cycle.

Although Bitcoin has climbed from $16,000 to above $111,000, Ethereum has not yet shown the typical Altcoin effect. A briefing on retail participation appeared around December 2024, but it quickly disappeared after market turmoil caused by tariff-related announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump, which weakened investors’ risk appetite.

CryptoQuant says retail investors have not yet Fully re-enter the ETH market. The lack of retail participation suggests that crypto assets may still be in its early stages, leaving room for potential upward as broader market sentiment recovers.

“Retail hasn’t entered the arena yet. When retail goes missing, you know what that means – the rally may still be in its early innings. There may be priceless overhangs hidden in ETH.”

Stable institutional purchases

On the other hand, institutional interest remains strong. In the past week, the total net inflow of on-site Ethereum ETFs was $248 million, with no outflows reported in nine funds. Furthermore, these ETFs recorded consistent inflows over multiple days, reflecting stable institutional demand and growing confidence among larger investors.

Blackrock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) leads all live Ethereum ETFs inflows every week as it attracts $136.4 million. The second is Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (Ethe), which brought $43.75 million, and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH), which had a box office of $38.82 million.

Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) inflows were $24.64 million, while Bitwise’s Ethereum ETF (ETHW) increased by $5.69 million during the same period.