According to a chart released by Matrixport, as reported by Odaily Odaily, retail investor participation has remained low over the past year. Using trading volume in the South Korean market as an indicator, retail buying demand remains weak.
Insufficient retail demand and a lack of incremental buying support have made it difficult for perpetual contract funding rates to rise, keeping them at low levels for an extended period. Low funding rates further compress the profit potential of basis trading (spot-futures arbitrage), thus limiting incremental inflows into Bitcoin ETFs and keeping them at a relatively moderate level overall.
This confirms our judgment in March 2024: without retail investor activity driving the futures-spot price spread, it would be difficult for institutional funds to significantly accelerate their allocation pace, thus prolonging the current consolidation phase.
