Bitcoin (BTC) reached new highs in 2025, but something striking is still happening: retail investors are sending less Bitcoin en masse to Binance, the largest crypto platform in the world.
According to new data from CryptoQuant, daily deposits from retail investors have fallen to a record low of less than 500 BTC per day. How is it possible that the activity of retail investors decreases so sharply, especially during a bull market?
BTC deposits from retail investors at record lows
The group of investors with a maximum of 1 Bitcoin is often called “shrimps”. This group in particular has now virtually disappeared from Binance. In 2022 during the bear market, these investors still sent an average of 2,600 BTC per day to the trading platform. By 2025, that will drop to only about 400 BTC per day.
According to analysts, this is not a temporary dip, but a structural change. Small investors seem to trade less actively and more often choose another way to invest in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin ETFs are changing investor behavior
A major driver of this shift is the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. These exchange products make it possible to invest in Bitcoin without using wallets, private keys or crypto exchanges yourself. This significantly lowers the threshold for new and existing investors.
What is a spot Bitcoin ETF?
A spot Bitcoin ETF is a stock exchange fund that holds real bitcoins.
Investors simply buy a share of that fund through their normal broker, and the fund then buys real BTC to back that share.
This way you can invest in Bitcoin without having to store coins yourself, use wallets or take technical risks. The price of the fund directly follows the real Bitcoin price.
As a result, a large part of retail investments remains outside the major crypto exchanges, such as Binance. This ensures that the visible BTC flows on trading platforms become smaller and you see much more whale activity. At the same time, the Bitcoin price is still at an extremely high level compared to previous years. Investors are more likely to hold their positions through traditional investment products.
Whales are becoming increasingly dominant on the market
While small investors are withdrawing, large investors are becoming more active. Data show that so-called ‘whales’ open a relatively large number of long positions. In previous market cycles, this was often a signal that the Bitcoin price found a local bottom, after which a new increase followed.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/bitcoin-stortingen-kelderen-kleinste-beleggers-verlaten-binance-massaal/
