Bitcoin Retail Inflows to Binance Drop to 400 BTC, Reaching Record Low in 2025

Bitcoin retail inflows to Binance ‘collapse’ to 400 BTC record low in 2025

Bitcoin retail investors are breaking new records as a "structural decline" emerges in this current bull market.

Key Takeaways:

Bitcoin wallets holding up to 1 BTC are sending significantly less BTC to Binance than ever before.
The current decline is evident during a time dominated by the rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Whale activity indicates a potential new price bottom for Bitcoin.

Significant Drop in Bitcoin Retail Inflows to Binance

Data from the on-chain analytics company CryptoQuant reveals that Bitcoin inflows to Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, have fallen dramatically in 2025. Retail investors holding up to 1 BTC, which is roughly valued at $90,000, are mostly pulling back from trading.

According to CryptoQuant, the activity among these "shrimp" investors has sharply declined, even when compared to the bear market of 2022. "The activity of shrimps, which refers to small Bitcoin holders (less than 1 BTC), has dropped to one of the lowest levels ever recorded," stated contributor Darkfost in a QuickTake blog post on Monday.

Bitcoin shrimp inflows (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant

In December 2022, daily inflows from these smaller investors to Binance totaled approximately 2,675 BTC (about $242 million) per day, based on a 30-day simple moving average. "Currently, those inflows have plummeted to just 411 BTC, marking one of the lowest levels ever observed," Darkfost continued.

Bitcoin whales vs. retail delta (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

The apparent lack of interest from retail investors has been a defining feature of Bitcoin's recent trajectory, even as prices reach unprecedented heights. However, amidst this downturn over the past two months, one key indicator shows a bullish trend when comparing retail investors to larger "whale" players in the market.

The Whale vs. Retail Delta, which measures long positions between these two groups, signals a potential bottom for Bitcoin prices. "For the first time in Bitcoin's history, whales are substantially more positioned in longs compared to retail traders," stated Joao Wedson, founder and CEO of the crypto analytics platform Alphractal, in a post shared with his X followers in late November.

Impact of Bitcoin ETFs on Retail Investment

CryptoQuant also contextualizes the downtrend among retail investors within the rise of more accessible Bitcoin investment options, particularly the introduction of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

"ETFs have created an easy way to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the hassles of dealing with private keys, ensuring wallet security, managing exchange accounts, or worrying about custody risks," wrote Darkfost. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, November proved to be a challenging month for ETFs, with the largest one, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), experiencing net outflows of $2.3 billion.