The latest Bitcoin bull run feels different.

Scratch that. Every bitcoin bull run feels different, as each cycle brings with it fresh narratives and new blood. But there’s one element that’s always been consistent throughout Bitcoin’s history, and that’s retail interest in buying into freedom tech and f**k you money. Well, Bitcoin to the moon rallies, at least.

Retail is sitting this Bitcoin bull run out

Remember retail? Because all I hear is crickets…

Literally zero taxi drivers, no friends’ cousins twice-removed, or kindergarten teachers asking if it’s too late to buy. Despite some analysts’ conviction about Alt Season revving up, I haven’t even been asked about Fartcoin, Dogecoin, or Ripple, and I have a pretty good templated answer to the latter, if you’d like to borrow.

Anyway, the point here is this: retail is sitting this Bitcoin bull run out, and it can’t be because of a lack of awareness. This time it’s different. Somewhere between the Bitcoin ETFs, presidential pumps, and Larry Fink taking over at the WEF, retail decided this game was no longer for them.

Dare I say it? Bitcoin’s just no fun anymore, or maybe retail got so badly burned last time around they finally learned not to play with fire. No one’s even casually searching for news: Google Trends for Bitcoin isn’t even grazing a mild peak next to Japanese walking and Labubu dolls.

That no one uses Google to search for anything anymore could arguably be a factor in this, but still, the silence from distant relatives and service workers is palpable.

100 days over $100K

You would hardly even notice that the number-one crypto has spent 100 consecutive days above $100k; a psychological feat, a generational inflection point. Each time Bitcoin has leapfrogged a major round number ($100, $1,000, $10,000), it has ushered in a new era of adoption, investment, and hockey-stick price action.

Yet, this time around, nobody cares.

Not only is Bitcoin sustaining celestial highs and carving out new all-time tops, but its technical backbone is strengthening. Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average crossed above $100,000, a powerful signal for traders and long-term holders alike.

In every Bitcoin bull run, breaking and holding above historic resistance on both price and moving averages has preceded periods of continued momentum. But retail is nowhere to be found.

This cycle has even flushed out some of the longest-standing Bitcoin whales, making way for the same corrosive institutions that Bitcoin was meant to abhor.

Crypto in your 401k

2025 has also seen a quantum shift in retirement planning with Bitcoin and other cryptos being legally allowed in mainstream retirement accounts, opening direct access for tens of millions of Americans to accumulate hard money for their futures.

But retail couldn’t care less.

They’ve packed their bags all the way to the virtual Bahamas and said “Let’s sit this one out.” And while Bitcoin has arguably morphed from a speculative trade to a staple of retirement portfolios and institutional diversification, retail’s absence feels incredibly sad.

Something we haven’t seen in over 5 months: Ethereum is back above $3K. Finally.

And not just that – it’s actually outperformed most other major coins during this rally.

So, what’s goin’ on?

Well, thing is, it’s not your usual army of degens running things this time. As we discussed yesterday, retail traders are still nowhere to be seen.

This rally is powered by institutions.

And their attitude toward Ethereum is changing.

One big clue: Ethereum ETFs had $1.5B of inflows just this month.

On top of that, more and more public companies are adding ETH to their corporate treasuries – just like Strategy did with Bitcoin.

Altogether, these companies bought ~545K ETH in the past month, worth around $1.7B at today’s prices.

Some of the biggest dawgs in that department so far:

SharpLink Gaming: ~280K ETH;

BitMine Immersion Technologies: ~163K ETH;

Bit Digital: ~100K ETH (after selling off their Bitcoin to move to ETH).

And… why are they bullish on ETH? Let’s break it down

1/ Copying the Bitcoin treasury thesis – but with more upside

Companies saw how much shareholder value Strategy unlocked just by holding BTC and turning itself into a “Bitcoin proxy.”

Now they’re trying to do the same thing with Ethereum – where there’s way less competition and more room to define the narrative.

In other words, they don’t wanna be Strategy 2.0 (or like 150.0 at this point)… they wanna be the Strategy of ETH.

2/ Productivity

Unlike Bitcoin, which just sits there, ETH is productive.

You can stake it and earn 3 – 6% yield annually.

For a treasury, that’s a big plus: upside and income.

3/ Tokenization

One of the hottest narratives this year is tokenization – turning real-world assets like stocks into digital tokens.

And guess which blockchain dominates here? Yuuup – Ethereum.

So, betting on tokenization means betting on Ethereum to deliver as the underlying infrastructure – and holding ETH is equally a bet that tokenization will keep fueling its growth.

4/ Stablecoins

Stablecoins are basically eating the world:

• Market cap now $200B+, up over 2,000% since 2020;

• Stablecoin transfers hit $27.6T in 2024, more than Visa and Mastercard combined.

And the biggest stablecoins – like USDT, USDC, and DAI – have most of their activity on Ethereum (and its Layer-2s).

So every time someone moves them there, they pay fees in ETH.

This means: holding ETH = exposure to a big chunk of the stablecoin ecosystem.

And what does all this mean?

The more institutions embrace ETH as a strategic, long-term asset, the more its price starts reflecting real, sticky demand – not just hype from retail traders.

That’s a solid, medium-to-long-term bullish case.

Bitcoin’s price saw a wild swing last week, briefly rising above $111,800 on May 23 before dropping to $109,600 today. Despite the sudden dip, the world’s largest cryptocurrency ended the week near $110,000, trading at $109,770 at last check. While short-term volatility continues to rattle some nerves, a growing number of investors and analysts are focusing on Bitcoin’s bigger picture.

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Frustration And Patience Seem To Go Hand In Hand

Thomas Fahrer, co-founder of Apollo, has been vocal about the emotional side of owning Bitcoin. According to him, holding Bitcoin is often frustrating—about 90% of the time, he said. But he believes it pays off for those who stick around. Fahrer shared a price chart stretching from 2011 to a projection for 2031, using a curved trendline on a logarithmic scale to show Bitcoin’s consistent upward pattern over time.

Several moments stood out on the chart. In 2015, Bitcoin crashed to around $212. In 2020, it found support near $5,000. And in 2022, after reaching a peak above $67,000 the year before, it fell to around $16,000. But through all the noise, Fahrer says Bitcoin has followed its long-term curve.

Holding Bitcoin means getting rich while feeling frustrated 90% of the time.

Deflationary money – designed to increase in value – forever.

It’s difficult for the human mind to comprehend. Most still don’t get it. pic.twitter.com/d604FyoQn3

— Thomas Fahrer (@thomas_fahrer) May 25, 2025

A Deflationary Design That’s Hard To Grasp

Fahrer also pointed to Bitcoin’s design as a deflationary currency. Unlike the US dollar, which loses value as more of it enters the system, Bitcoin has a hard cap—only 21 million coins will ever exist. Every four years, the number of new coins created is cut in half through a process called halving. That makes it harder for new supply to outpace demand over time.

Fahrer believes that many people still don’t fully understand this. The idea that money can grow in value instead of losing it goes against how most people were raised to think about spending and saving.

Numbers Tell Their Own Story

One Bitcoin investor, using the name Carl Menger, shared a comparison that got attention. According to his data, if someone held $100 in cash from 2020 to 2025, its buying power would shrink to just $76. But that same $100 put into Bitcoin would grow to $1,201 over the same stretch of time.

It’s a sharp contrast. While inflation chips away at fiat savings, Bitcoin, with its fixed supply, shows the opposite effect when prices go up. That’s the kind of visual that sticks.

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/4OBqOLgm3n

— Carl ₿ MENGER (@CarlBMenger) May 24, 2025

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You Don’t Need A Whole Coin

Robert Kiyosaki, the author known for “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” also joined the conversation. He said people often think they need to buy a whole Bitcoin to benefit, but that’s not true. Even owning 0.01 BTC, he said, could have a major impact down the line if Bitcoin continues to perform as it has in the past.

Kiyosaki also mentioned that Bitcoin has made it easier to build wealth without relying on things like gold. It’s a view that matches the mindset of many younger investors who are looking for alternatives.

While the market remains unpredictable day to day, the long-term message coming from these voices is clear: Bitcoin may test your patience, but it hasn’t broken its trend yet.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView