These days, the cryptocurrency market is attracting a great deal of attention during its latest upswing. As reported by Bloomberg News on Friday (Nov. 29), this boom might not be embraced by retail investors in the same way as during the pandemic. They are likely remembering how quickly the 2021 bubble burst. Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro, stated, "From a retail perspective, interest is clearly growing as trading in bitcoin has picked up significantly. However, we are yet to see the levels we've seen in previous cycles, which signals that we've got a wave of retail investors still sitting on the sidelines watching."
Key Factors Driving the Crypto Market
Some industry players attribute the $1 trillion jump in the crypto market that accompanied Donald Trump's election victory last month to institutional bitcoin demand. The incoming president had campaigned on the idea of more favorable crypto regulation and the creation of a strategic U.S. bitcoin stockpile. On the other hand, others contend that retail investors are already showing more engagement with the crypto sector. This is evidenced by a recent record high of the popular altcoin Solana, as well as the increasing downloads of crypto exchange apps and the growing prevalence of meme coins on social media. Caroline Bowler, CEO of digital-asset exchange BTC Markets, said, "There are clear signs that retail investors have returned to the crypto market post-election." A substantial number of trading accounts that had been dormant since 2020 and 2021 came back to life last month.The report also mentioned Trump's vow to transform the U.S. into the world's crypto nexus and to roll back the SEC's crackdown on the sector, which followed a market rout and a wave of fraud within the industry. Bloomberg believes that Trump's presidency is likely to bring "more crypto executives into the limelight." Among these executives is Justin Sun, a controversial crypto entrepreneur who last week invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial, becoming the largest investor in the Trump-backed crypto firm. Sun told Bloomberg, "I'm very optimistic about the Trump administration and their crypto regulation." The SEC charged Sun and his companies last year with fraud and other securities law violations, accusing them of making unregistered sales and offers. Sun has argued that he believes the SEC's claims "lack merit."In conclusion, the cryptocurrency market is in a state of flux, with various factors influencing its trajectory. Institutional demand and retail engagement both play significant roles, and the actions of key figures like Justin Sun and the potential impact of the Trump administration's policies continue to shape the market. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how these trends unfold and what the future holds for the cryptocurrency space. 
