Coinbase has climbed to rank 137 in the US Apple App Store in a sign that often heralds retail interest in crypto.
However, the crypto industry is still divided on whether retail investors have truly returned.
Sensor Tower data shows that Coinbase has jumped 65% in the US Apple App Store rankings over the past month, rising from 386 to 137 as Bitcoin (BTC) surged 10% during the same period.
Previous bull market peaks, Coinbase was in top 175
Bitcoin recently reached a new all-time high of $122,884. It is trading at $118,294 at the time of publication, according to Nansen data.
Cointelegraph reported in September 2024 that Coinbase app downloads typically correlate with price performance; previous peaks of bull markets saw Coinbase enter the top 175 of apps, while a place below 500 typically corresponded to bear markets.
Some crypto market participants speculate that retail interest is returning to the crypto market, but others are not so sure.
Crypto analyst Tony Edwards said in an X post on Wednesday, “Retail is definitely starting to come back in,” based on the recent spike in his YouTube views and subscribers.
Crypto market resource Lab4Crypto said, “The crowd is slowly returning.”
“If this is the beginning… You do not want to be late,” Lab4Crypto added.
However, Bitwise’s head of research, André Dragosch, disagrees. On Friday, Dragosch said that “retail is almost nowhere to be found” despite Bitcoin’s new all-time highs, pointing to the lack of Google search interest in “Bitcoin.”
On Wednesday, crypto trader Elisa also pointed out that Google Trends for “crypto” shows that “retail interest is currently nowhere near 2021 highs.”
Past retail indicators not so reliable
Bitfinex analysts said on Tuesday that new buyers entering the Bitcoin market are seen as price-agnostic and are scooping up the cryptocurrency faster than miners can supply.
They noted that holders with balances between 1 and 100 Bitcoin have been accumulating approximately 19,300 BTC per month, significantly outpacing the current monthly issuance rate of around 13,400 BTC since the April 2024 halving.
Related: Bitcoin could rally to $135K before ‘corrective phase’ — Analyst
However, this data may not paint the full picture.
Some industry participants say that, with the introduction of spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), traditional indicators of retail interest in crypto have become less reliable, as investors now have other ways to be exposed to crypto.
Since their launch in January 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $53.05 billion in inflows, while spot Ether ETFs, which debuted in July 2024, have seen approximately $6 billion, according to Farside data.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
