Retail Bitcoin activity in APAC has outpaced the U.S. and Europe, driven by non-institutional participation, according to Gemini and Glassnode.
The Asia-Pacific region retail traders are making moves in Bitcoin (BTC) while the U.S. lags behind. When excluding exchange-traded funds and exchange flows, retail activity in Asia is growing faster than in the U.S. and Europe, according to Geminiโs latest research report made in collaboration with Glassnode.
Research at Glassnode analyzed transaction timestamps, linking BTC activity to working hours in different regions. The findings suggest that โretail activity in the APAC region has grown at a faster clip than other geographies.โ
Since Bitcoinโs cycle low in December 2022, APACโs year-over-year supply growth reached 6.4%, the survey reveals. For comparison, the U.S. saw a decline of 5.7%, while Europe dropped 0.7% per the same timeframe.
โThis observation is interesting, reflecting an inverse in behavioral activity between the U.S. and
APAC areas, suggesting a shifting dominance in retail activity between the two regions.โGlassnode
Institutional investors have played a big role in U.S. Bitcoin flows, especially after the launch of spot ETFs. But outside of ETFs and exchanges, APAC traders are taking the lead. The analysts say โit is likelyโ that the launch of the U.S. spot ETFs in January 2024 have played a key role in the trend, opening up โnew opportunities for retail and institutional investors to get exposure to Bitcoin.โ
Additionally, education and understanding of the asset class โhas largely improved,โ which led to a
โmaturing investor profile,โ Glassnode notes.
