Bitcoin trades at $99,340.23, approaching the $100K mark as retail investors retain market dominance.

What is more interesting about this rally is the dominance of retail investors, who currently account for 88.07% of all Bitcoin (BTC) in circulation, according to The Block. Contrary to the recent claims that institutional investors are leaving retail investors behind in ownership of BTCs, the asset is still in the hands of retail investors, which underlines their stronghold in the market. This grassroots stronghold contrasts the much smaller shares held by whales at 1.26% and institutional investors at 10.68%.

Adding momentum to BTC, the historic debut of BlackRock’s BTC ETF options witnessed $1.9 billion in notional value traded on the first day. It is a landmark news because it signifies growing institutional interest in BTC, yet lowers entry barriers for everyday investors. But there’s still some way to go, says Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Invest, in his observations on X about the ETF’s potential to reshape access to BTC. 

Bitcoin Breakdown:

How BTC ownership is distributed supports the overall trend of asset availability in the market. Companies such as Coinbase have substantial quantities of BTC, holding more than 2.25 million BTC. However, most of this is kept for their clients. Satoshi Nakamoto‘s wallet, which contains 96,8452 BTC, remains untouched as it played a role in creating the Genesis block.  

Overall, funds and ETFs account for 1.09 million BTC, or about 5.2%, while governments such as the U.S. and China collectively hold around 2.5%. 

Despite BTC witnessing price surges, the market is far from stable and often shows extreme volatility. For instance, on Nov. 21, the price of BTC dipped to $95,756.24, with trading volume reaching $98.40 billion. This volatility then reflects the vital role that retail investors play during price hikes, even as institutional investors become more active in the market. 

Some argue that BTC is becoming more centralized, but the data does not back this claim. Financial products like ETFs are attractive to institutions, but they also make BTC more accessible to retail investors. BTC continues to align with Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of a decentralized and democratized financial system. As BTC nears the $100,000 threshold, its open-and-shut conversation that BTC’s ownership remains essential.

Believers in Ethereum (ETH) could be on the verge of an opportunity, according to Ki Young Ju, the founder and chief executive of the digital asset analytics firm CryptoQuant.

Young Ju tells his 370,400 followers on the social media platform X that the ETH/Bitcoin (BTC) Net Unrealized Profit/Loss level just hit a four-year low.

“Despite Ethereum’s underperformance against Bitcoin, ETH holders endure losses without realizing them. This mirrors levels from its early 2020 bottom.

This might be an opportunity for ETH believers.”

Young Ju also notes that ETH is becoming less correlated with BTC.

“The 180-day BTC-ETH Pearson correlation is at a three-year low. A 10% rise in Bitcoin could result in only a 3% gain for Ethereum.

Just because BTC is strong doesn’t mean you should buy ETH. Each asset is now following its own path.”

Young Ju isn’t the only crypto analyst who’s bullish on Ethereum: Former Goldman Sachs executive Raoul Pal also thinks ETH is primed for big gains.

The Real Vision CEO says ETH’s current chart is playing out similarly to Bitcoin’s between 2011 and 2019.

“Ethereum now versus the previous periods is following the last in Bitcoin. Now whether it gets to the target here of $20,000/ETH, who knows. Doesn’t really matter. But directionally, we’ll see what happens. ETH should accelerate from here, and I’m pretty confident that it will.” 

ETH is trading at $3,054 at time of writing. The second-ranked crypto asset by market cap is down more than 1% in the past 24 hours.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Officials say the United Kingdom (UK) government is preparing to set a new regulatory framework for the crypto industry, including stablecoin, by next year.

The newly formed government of the UK will advance the cryptocurrency regulations after being delayed due to the general elections this July. Keit Starmer from the Labour Party has been elected as Prime Minister.

Tulip Siddiq, economic secretary to the UK Treasury and City Minister, said that stablecoin would not be regulated under the existing payment services act. The digital currency of stablecoin — pegged by fiat money — would be included in new regulations that are expected to be drafted in early 2025.

“Doing everything in a single phase is simpler and it just makes more sense,” Siddiq said, according to Bloomberg on Nov. 21, at City & Financial Global’s Tokenisation Summit in London.

The development of this legislation product has made crypto industries step aside from Mother England. While other European countries, including regional organizations such as the European Union (EU), have implemented these kinds of regulations in the middle of the year.

EU has implemented Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulations this year, which provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for better consumer protections and financial stability in the region.

France, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein are examples of other European nations that have already implemented specific regulations for cryptocurrency in the country.

Growing crypto industry in the UK

The long-awaited regulations are important to advance due to the growing number of markets in Great Britain. Approximately 2.5 million adults in the UK own the cryptocurrency, about 5% of the population.

Market size and trading volume also gain a massive amount, around $170 billion and $8.5 billion, respectively. The venture capital also boosts the industry with over $1.9 billion in funding into crypto and blockchain startups in 2022.

UK was also one of the countries considering implementing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital pound. The latest information says this development is in the design phase by the Bank of England and is being discussed with the industry.