Bitcoin’s incredible growth — and the altcoins that followed — was mostly driven by retail investors. Half of them were Bitcoin enthusiasts, while the other half were just in it to make money. Both groups mostly just held their investments, cashing out occasionally.
Then speculators entered the crypto market, boosting the growth of crypto derivatives. Once the trading volume of crypto derivatives overtook spot trading, institutional investors started coming in seriously.
It’s easy to see why big players got interested. By then, Bitcoin and altcoins had gained major media and social media attention, built a large fan base, and attracted even more people thanks to FOMO. Speculators provided the liquidity and hedging tools that made it all possible.
But institutions don’t like high volatility. That means crypto enthusiasts should forget about Bitcoin doubling in price after every halving. Crypto is gradually turning into a more ordinary asset, much like stocks or forex.
Bitcoin was an innovation in 2008-2009 and only a few people had access to it. Slowly, with the advancement of technology and marketing of Bitcoin, more people discovered this coin and saw the opportunity of making a good investment choice. Then halving happened in 2016 and the price went significantly up, then Elon Musk used the moment and manipulated the whole crypto market. Now BlackRock saw the opportunity and forced SEC to accept Bitcoin Spot ETFs. Btw the last one hasn't crushed the dream of making it big in crypto. Bitcoin's price was already so high that they only did a good job in the previous and this year for Bitcoin gains. There are still many opportunities that almost guarantee a good bull market in the next years.