Institutional grade crypto investments have frequented the news of late, and while upcoming crypto derivatives may have been tailored to create a demand in this market niche, there is another set of investors who have been bullish about the industry from the get-go – the retail investors.

Data from crypto analytical provider Diar revealed that Bitcoin holdings of addresses holding 1 – 10 bitcoins before the burst have shown a steady growth of 5% since the last all-time high in December 2017.

The report did note that while 2018 had slightly deterred from 2015 through 2017 year-over-year average increase of 35% in the holdings of popular addresses; registering a mere increase of 0.7%, the year 2019 has picked up pace and is seeing a steady increase of 3% in bitcoin holdings in the 1-10 bitcoin containing addresses.

More so, within the system, there may be a fairly noticeable activity of even distribution of wealth, as addresses holding larger amounts of bitcoins (10 – 1000 BTCs) have followed opposite trends to those of 1 – 10 BTCs.

While this phenomenon could have contrasting interpretations; call it a positive sentiment on the part of retail investors in preparedness for the supposedly long-awaited bull run. On the other hand, according to the source, “it may mean an exodus of larger investors.” Whichever the case, increase in retail buying against the market trends and amassing more Bitcoin could perhaps mean that the true speculative value of Bitcoin lies in the unwavering hopes that Bitcoin could someday revolutionize the barter system.

Recently, the source published a report detailing the healthy state of Bitcoin transactions, describing the fees trend as touching 2014 lows.

While it appears that institutional investors may be sitting on the sidelines, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz had advised that hedge funds should have at least 1% of their holdings in Bitcoin as a safe bet whilst profiting from its volatility.

Retail investors’ holdings are currently estimated to be worth around USD 6 billion and perhaps with such a rise in optimism for the flagship decentralized cryptocurrency, this could grow over time to become a significant stake in Bitcoin’s circulating supply. And maybe by the time institutions finally become fully vested into crypto – Bitcoin most especially – Satoshi’s dream of a decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash system may have taken full effect.