Bitcoiners hunker down for 'storms ahead' as retail investors stay away

business-standard.com:

Crypto investors found something to cheer about amid the recent downturn in digital tokens: the asset class held up better than just about everything else in the third quarter. Yet the hunt for a bottom continues as long-term holders cling on with expectations that there’s more pain to come -- and retail investors stay on the sidelines.

Even with the narrative going around that crypto hung tough in the July-September stretch, the mood has remained sour. While around 83,500 new digital wallets are coming online daily, that’s a low for the 2020-2022 cycle, according to data compiled by strategists at Glassnode.

Meanwhile, wealth held by “mature coins” is at an all-time high, the researcher said, as long-time investors have refused to spend them amid the market turmoil. The group of investors who ‘hodl’ through thick and thin -- meaning those who remain loyal even during tough times -- has remained “steadfast,” according to Glassnode, which said that they might be hunkering down “for the storms ahead.”

Such is the problem for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now -- the cohort of retail-type investors who had fueled much of last year’s huge surge in prices have been missing in action. Some market-watchers say that with hodl-investors waiting things out, the overhanging question remains whether -- or when -- individual investors will make a return.

“The overall price has got to do better, and once it does, the retail investor will become excited again. We definitely don’t have that right now because we’re just stuck in a range,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “There’s nothing that turns off an individual investor more than something getting stuck in a sideways range.”

At issue is Bitcoin