Bitcoin (BTC) retail investors are setting new records as a "structural decline" becomes apparent in the current bull market. Data indicates that entities holding up to 1 BTC are sending less Bitcoin to Binance daily than ever before, a trend that coincides with the era of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
"Shrimp" Binance BTC Inflows Reach All-Time Lows
Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant reveals a significant collapse in BTC inflows to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance throughout 2025. Bitcoin retail investors, defined as entities holding up to 1 BTC (valued at approximately $90,000), have largely stepped back from active trading. According to CryptoQuant, the activity levels of these "shrimp" investors are a fraction of what they were, even when compared to the bear market of 2022.
Darkfost, a contributor at CryptoQuant, confirmed in a QuickTake blog post on Monday that "the activity of shrimps, meaning small Bitcoin holders (<1 BTC), has dropped to one of the lowest levels ever recorded."
In December 2022, daily inflows from shrimp investors to Binance alone averaged around 2,675 BTC (approximately $242 million) per day, as measured by a 30-day simple moving average (SMA). "Today, those inflows have collapsed to just 411 BTC, marking one of the lowest levels ever observed," Darkfost stated.
It’s not a simple pullback, it’s a structural decline.
This apparent lack of interest from retail investors has become a notable characteristic of recent Bitcoin history, even as prices have reached unprecedented new highs. Concurrently, during the price drawdown over the past two months, one indicator that compares retail investors to whales has remained bullish. The Whale versus Retail Delta, which contrasts long positioning across both cohorts, is signaling a potential BTC price bottom.
Joao Wedson, founder and CEO of crypto analytics platform Alphractal, informed X followers in late November that "Whale vs. Retail Delta shows that, for the first time in Bitcoin’s history, whales are this heavily positioned in longs compared to retail traders." He added that "Whenever these levels got this high in the past, we saw local bottoms forming — but also large positions getting liquidated."
Bitcoin ETFs Contribute to Retail Market Shifts
CryptoQuant attributes the retail downtrend partly to the emergence of more accessible Bitcoin investment vehicles, specifically the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Darkfost explained that "ETFs have provided a frictionless way to gain exposure to Bitcoin without dealing with private keys, wallet security, exchange accounts or the risk of mismanaging custody." He further commented that "Of course, ETFs are not the only explanation, but they clearly contribute to a profound change in how retail participates in the market."
Of course, ETFs are not the only explanation, but they clearly contribute to a profound change in how retail participates in the market.
November presented a testing period for the ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest among them, experienced net outflows totaling $2.3 billion during that month.