- Early Bitcoiners gained massive wealth; modern investors now rely on patience, discipline, and long-term strategy.
- Meme coins like PEPE and DOGE drive retail hype, boosting trading volume and social chatter across platforms.
- Institutional moves, ETF plans, and large holdings keep Bitcoin at the center of bullish crypto market trends.
Bitcoin’s market activity surged this weekend, reflecting strong institutional and retail interest across major cryptocurrencies. The trend highlights both the early accumulation advantage and the current dynamics driving crypto adoption. Notably, early Bitcoiners shaped the market with large holdings accumulated when prices were far lower.
According to journalist Natalie Brunell, “A large share of the people who shaped this space early were stacking or mining Bitcoin between 2011–2016, when prices ranged from single digits to a few hundred dollars.” She adds, “Someone who accumulated 50 BTC at $100 had a $5,000 cost basis. At today’s prices, that’s multi-million-dollar wealth.”
Hence, these early participants speak from positions of extreme asymmetry, influencing market sentiment and expectations. Brunell explains that later entrants, especially those joining after 2017, experience a stretched timeline for gains.
“Early Bitcoiners were rewarded primarily by price discovery. Later Bitcoiners are rewarded by duration, conviction, and discipline,” she said. Consequently, market patience, long-term saving, and protection of purchasing power have become central to modern Bitcoin investment strategies.
Altcoins Gain Hype Amid Market Movement
On the other hand, as of the latest activities in the market, social media data provided by Santiment shows extreme focus on meme coins and major altcoins. Pepe ($PEPE) is currently the top performer in the market of the meme coins. This has been driven mainly by the massive social media conversations and short squeezes. Interestingly, the market has witnessed the same performances driven by retail traders.
Dogecoin itself is also quite prominent with whale transactions, Elon Musk discussions, and tech developments. Apart from this, Solana ($SOL) is trending with discussions related to staking, low transaction costs, and quick transactions. Another coin gaining importance is Ethereum ($ETH). This is due to SMART contracts, Layer 2 scaling solutions, and institutional investments.
In addition to retail frenzy, there is meaningful institutional interest in Bitcoin. Bitfarms just sold an extraction facility in Paraguay for as much as $30 million, and Tether has $8.42 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The leading exchange in South Korea is gearing up for etf listings, taking into account government delays. This, among other things, refl ects complex and positive trends. There have been etf outlfows worth $348 million as of end-2025.
