Bitcoin sheds 'dumb money' as retail buys most BTC since March 2020 crash

Bitcoin (BTC) is back in fashion for regular investors at $48,000 as data confirms the biggest buying spree since March 2020.

In a tweet on Dec. 14, statistician Willy Woo eyed a key trend which had previously been absent from the Bitcoin market for over 18 months.

Retail adds BTC like it's March 2020

After crashing to $3,600, BTC/USD was a hot pick for those able and willing to invest — and now, that phenomenon is back.

The changes in balances for wallets holding 1 BTC or less — typically suggesting smallscale investors — have reached their highest since March 2020.

While the circumstances remain the same — Coronavirus fears and macro market jitters over central bank policy — the major difference at the end of 2021 is that Bitcoin costs $48,000, not $3,600.

Nonetheless, if the retail accumulation data is accurate, interest is surging.

"The last time retail bought the dip this hard was at the bottom of the COVID crash," Woo commented.

The last time retail bought the dip this hard was at the bottom of the COVID crash.Probably nothing, few, etc etc. pic.twitter.com/HuxNxYMl48

As Cointelegraph reported this week, larger existing hodlers continue to exhibit mixed behavior at current price levels. Despite selling by some, the top tier — whales — are more cautious about divesting away from BTC.

"Smart" vs. "dumb" money hits all-time high

Meanwhile, the proportion of long-term investors has reached a record high versus short-term market participants.

Related: Bitcoin price dip may end Wednesday as Bitfinex bids hint at Fed ‘buy the news’ plans

According to the so-called "Smart Money Gap" indicator, comprised of data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, there has never been a greater disparity between the amount of BTC held by "smart" and "dumb" money — long-term and short-term buyers.

Throughout Bitcoin's history, local peaks in the metric have heralded the start of price bull runs, signifying local price bottoms.

The numbers support the narrative that Bitcoin's near 40% comedown from $69,000 all-time highs "flushed out" speculative market bets.