
This Week In Crypto Summary, June 20th 2025: Retail Crypto Traders Are SHOCKINGLY Bearish


Introduction
In a recent video, Brian sat down with Nicholas to analyze the crypto market's state. With Bitcoin's price fluctuating, they looked past the charts to uncover what the data truly says about trader behavior. This discussion revealed a fascinating story: while retail traders are growing impatient and fearful, crypto whales and institutions appear to be quietly accumulating. Join us as we break down the key insights from their conversation, from a surprising drop in Bitcoin's network activity to the explosive growth of crypto adoption in Asia.
On-Chain Data Reveals a Drop in Bitcoin's Utility
The conversation began with a look at Bitcoin's core health metrics. Brian pointed out a noticeable decline in on-chain utility over the past few weeks. Key indicators like transaction volume, active addresses, and network growth all peaked in late May or early June before starting to fall. This slowdown suggests a drop in demand and participation on the network. Brian noted, "there's just not a lot of demand or as much rising utility as we saw in the beginning parts of the year."
Actionable Tip: Monitor Bitcoin's daily active addresses. A sustained reversal and upward trend in this metric would signal renewed network demand and could precede a price recovery.
4:10 - Why Retail Boredom is Actually a Major BULLISH Signal
While declining network growth might seem bearish, Brian explained a counterintuitive but powerful market principle. Santiment's backtesting shows that markets often move in the opposite direction of the crowd's expectations. The current drop in new Bitcoin addresses is largely attributed to "retail impatience and boredom" due to flat prices. This creates a bullish divergence where prices remain stable while retail participation shrinks.
Actionable Tip: Pay attention to social media volume related to Bitcoin. When conversations die down and sentiment becomes apathetic or negative, it often marks a period of retail capitulation and a low-risk accumulation opportunity for patient investors.
5:56 - Are You in Profit? This Metric Reveals the Average Trader's Pain
To gauge trader profitability, Brian introduced the MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) metric. The 30-day MVRV sits at -1.8%, meaning the average short-term trader is slightly underwater. However, the 365-day MVRV shows long-term holders are still up by a healthy +15%. For the lowest-risk buying opportunity, you'd ideally want to see both metrics below 0%.

Actionable Tip: Watch the 30-day MVRV. If it dips further into negative territory, it signals increasing short-term pain, which historically reduces sell pressure and can mark a local bottom.
7:26 - The Surprising Move Bitcoin Whales Just Made
So, what are the smart money players doing? Brian examined the wallets of Bitcoin whales holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC. These large holders sold off nearly 30,000 BTC after a peak on June 3rd. However, the trend has reversed in the shorter term. Over the last 10 days, these same whales have started accumulating again, adding about 13,000 BTC.
Actionable Tip: Track the supply held by the 10-10,000 BTC cohort. A continued upward trend in their holdings serves as strong confirmation that smart money is confident in the market's direction.
9:37 - Bitcoin Vanishing from Exchanges and Why It Matters
A key long-term bullish indicator is the amount of Bitcoin held on exchanges. In early June, a massive 0.88% of the entire Bitcoin supply was moved off exchanges into private wallets. This trend shows an intention to hold for the long term, which strengthens the market's foundation by reducing the readily available supply for selling.

Actionable Tip: Monitor the "Supply on Exchanges" metric. A continued downtrend is bullish for the long term, but a sudden spike in supply moving onto exchanges can be an early warning of a potential sell-off.
13:42 - Is Ethereum Dying? The On-Chain Data Tells a Different Story
Nicholas mentioned a common sentiment that Ethereum's momentum might be fading. Brian quickly dispelled this idea with compelling network growth data. Today, the network is creating between 800,000 and 1 million new wallets per week, a significant increase from a year ago. This proves that despite flat price action, Ethereum's underlying ecosystem is healthier than ever.

Actionable Tip: Look past price and analyze Ethereum's weekly Network Growth. Sustained high levels of new address creation indicate a healthy and expanding ecosystem, which is a strong fundamental signal for long-term investors.
15:18 - Chart Shows Whales Are Accumulating as Retail Sells Off
A powerful chart presented by Brian perfectly illustrated the market's current dynamic. It showed that the number of wallets holding 10+ BTC (whales) is steadily increasing, while the number of smaller wallets is declining. This classic divergence often precedes price increases, signaling a transfer of wealth from impatient retail to patient whales.
Actionable Tip: Find a chart that compares the holdings of small retail wallets versus large whale wallets. When you see these two lines moving in opposite directions (whales up, retail down), it can signal that a market bottom is forming.
18:53 - The Stablecoin Paradox: Why USDT Keeps Growing Despite US Scrutiny
Despite regulatory concerns in the US, the market cap of Tether (USDT) continues to soar, growing by nearly $11.3 billion in the last two months. This indicates massive and growing demand for the world's largest stablecoin. Interestingly, the supply of USDT on exchanges is decreasing, suggesting it is being used in DeFi or held in private wallets rather than sitting idle.
Actionable Tip: Watch the market cap of major stablecoins. Continued growth indicates new capital is entering the crypto ecosystem, acting as potential fuel for future rallies.
20:02 - Consistent Bitcoin ETF Inflows
The influence of traditional finance is undeniable. Brian highlighted a streak of seven consecutive trading days with net positive Bitcoin ETF inflows, totaling nearly $2 billion. This continued investment from traditional finance shows strong, persistent belief in Bitcoin's future value and often precedes significant price rises.
Actionable Tip: Follow daily Bitcoin ETF flow data. A consistent streak of net inflows signals strong institutional conviction and can act as a powerful tailwind for Bitcoin's price.
23:25 - A New XRP ETF Just Launched; Here's the Market's Reaction
The crypto market saw another ETF launch, this time for XRP in Toronto. The news triggered a massive spike in social media conversations, but the price action told a story of "buy the rumor, sell the news," with a sharp drop after the announcement. This is a classic lesson that retail-driven FOMO around major events can often mark a short-term top.

Actionable Tip: Be cautious when social volume for an asset explodes around a news event. This often indicates peak retail hype and can be a strong contrarian signal to avoid buying into the excitement.
27:20 - The Crypto Revolution is Exploding Across Asia
Looking beyond the charts, Nicholas provided valuable insight into the growing crypto adoption across Asia. Countries like Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia are seeing a buzz of innovation, policy changes, and even exploration into government-backed stablecoins. This wave of adoption is a powerful long-term bullish signal for the entire crypto industry.
Actionable Tip: Keep track of regulatory and adoption news from key international markets. Positive developments in Asia can be a leading indicator of the next wave of global capital and user growth for the crypto space.
Conclusion
The key takeaway is clear: while surface-level sentiment appears fearful and retail traders are showing signs of fatigue, the underlying data tells a different story. Whales and institutions are using this period of consolidation to accumulate assets, fundamental network growth for major cryptos remains strong, and global adoption is accelerating.
By focusing on on-chain data, investors can gain a clearer understanding of market dynamics and make more informed decisions. The current divergence between retail sentiment and smart money behavior suggests that patience could be greatly rewarded.
What are your thoughts on the current market? Let us know in the comments!