If retail investors don't enter the market, is the crypto market just a dead loop?

Question

[Chain Article] I recently saw a set of data that’s quite interesting—the crypto market still doesn’t seem to attract retail investors.

Take the Korean market as an example. Retail investors have always been very active there historically. But what about now? Daily trading volume is barely holding at around $1 billion, which is a far cry from the peaks in 2023 and December 2024, when volumes easily reached tens of billions. What does this indicate? The funds from retail investors who favor short-term trades haven’t really come back.

So you’ll notice that some new platforms or exchanges that are trying to expand just can’t get their trading volumes up. A few IPO plans that were hyped up before have also slowed down significantly. Simply put, without retail investors, there’s no trading volume; without volume, there’s no market sentiment; without sentiment, volumes drop even further—it’s a vicious cycle.

Even if the Fed actually cuts rates later, monetary easing alone probably won’t be enough to trigger a decent rally. After all, a market without interest is just that—no matter how cheap money gets, someone still has to be willing to come in and play.

GasOptimizer · Accepted Answer

One billion dollars in trading volume? That's not even enough to cover the gas fees, haha.

MetaverseVagabond · Answer

Retail investors not entering the market basically means they haven't been scared enough yet.

Wait, is the trading volume in Korea dropping from tens of billions to 1 billion? How bad does it have to get?

Currency easing can't save the market. This statement is a bit harsh but also hits the point.

To be honest, without retail participation, everything feels quite dead.

What will sustain this round of rally? It all depends on when retail investors will turn back.

TokenToaster · Answer

It is indeed a problem for retail investors not to enter the market, but it is too pessimistic to say that the dead cycle has been seen in previous years

Wait, South Korea only has a billion dollars a day? I remember that in the first two years, this number more than doubled... It's really a bit cold now

But then again, whether retail investors can come back is not to see whether the currency price rises, but naturally they will come when the currency price rises, and there are not so many hot spots now

No matter how much the Fed releases water, it can't change the market's expectations, and the key is to have a narrative

GasWaster · Answer

nah this is just cope... retail won't come back till gas fees stop being absolutely insane tbh. like why would anyone fomo in when a single failed tx costs more than their whole position lmfao

BearMarketBarber · Answer

It's definitely awkward if retail investors don't enter the market, but calling it a dead cycle seems a bit too absolute, doesn't it?

RuntimeError · Answer

Is it really that important whether retail investors enter the market? I see institutions have already been waiting there.

You’re still stuck in a deadlock, while they’ve already started bottom-fishing.

What does that bit of trading volume in Korea mean? It just shows we’re in a risk-averse period, that’s normal.

Rate cuts? Wake up, what the market needs is a narrative, not money.

It works even without retail investors—the only thing that’s changed is who’s playing the game.

This round has taught retail investors a lesson; they can come back in for the next round.

Sounds nice, but at the end of the day, it’s still the institutions controlling the market.

ZenZKPlayer · Answer

It's definitely awkward when retail investors aren't entering the market, but think about it, bro—who dares to jump into this crypto cycle so casually?

After so many rounds of being cut, retail investors have gotten smarter.

Even rate cuts are useless; if there's no hype, there's just no hype.