According to Joe Vezzani, the CEO of social media analysis platform LunarCrush, retail investors are not yet buying into the increasing prices of Bitcoin and other digital assets. Vezzani stated that social interactions and overall retail interest are still relatively low compared to the last major bull run. In the past six months, there have been spikes in posts mentioning Bitcoin in January and March.
The surge in January may be attributed to the excitement surrounding the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additionally, there was an increase in posts in March when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high. However, the number of posts remained steady despite the price rally.
Mentions of Ethereum (ETH) on social media have remained somewhat consistent in the past six months, but the data shows a downward trend since the beginning of March. On the other hand, Solana’s (SOL) token has experienced several bursts of activity in the last six months, likely due to the memecoin frenzy on the network. However, social media posts mentioning Solana or SOL declined at the start of April.
Vezzani suggested that if spam and bots were excluded from the interactions, there could be a decline in social media activity in the crypto space. He also mentioned that he does not expect a significant increase in retail engagement, even with upcoming major events like the Bitcoin halving. Vezzani believes that the halving is seen more as an insider event and introducing concepts like this may alienate the public and diminish their interest.
When asked about the importance of social engagement data, Vezzani explained that the crypto market is fragmented, with new coins and exchanges constantly emerging. Therefore, analyzing social engagement can give traders an advantage by helping them identify promising coins or shield them from potential risks.
In summary, Bitcoin and other digital assets are seeing price increases, but retail investors are not fully embracing the hype yet, according to LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani. Social interactions and retail interest remain relatively low compared to previous bull runs. While there have been spikes in posts mentioning Bitcoin and bursts of activity for Ethereum and Solana, the overall engagement on social media platforms has not seen a significant increase. Vezzani believes that the introduction of complex concepts like the Bitcoin halving may further alienate the public and reduce their interest. However, analyzing social engagement data can still provide traders with valuable insights in the fragmented crypto market.