Opinion: Retail participation in the current market is insufficient and retail investors are becoming more 'sophisticated'

On October 2, CoinDesk Senior Analyst James Van Straten said that there may not be as many retail investors in the current cycle and that they are becoming more sophisticated.

James says retail investors were a big factor in the last cryptocurrency bull market, helping to drive up the price of digital assets and market enthusiasm. Many first entered the crypto market during the COVID embargo from 2021 to 2022.

The current bull market cycle began in mid-2023 and is more institutionally led. Today, the main conversation revolves around ETFs and the slow but steady adoption of TradFi. So far, retail investors have not returned in the same numbers. (Meme Coin is an exception).