Who's been holding more, retail or institutional investors?

This thread is for some speculation. Hey everyone, with the recent drop in bitcoin prices and the expectation of more bearish trends, I’ve got a question for you all. Let’s share our thoughts and back them up with some solid reasoning. Considering the current market downturn, which group of investors do you think is holding onto their bitcoin? Are we talking retail investors or institutional ones? Make sure to explain your reasoning.

For now the answer is very obvious that institutions are still Holding some portion of their bitcoin but if price goes below this, they would be the first to dump it all on us. Retail traders includes the strong bitcoiners who trust the system and believe that sooner or later price would definitely resume it's course and turn bullish. A good example are those OG that are yet to touch any of their BTC regardless of the last ath, they still didn't sell. Now that majority would be waiting for price to drop any lower and sell out of fear, only smart ones would know very well that this is simply an opportunity to buy at much lower prices..

It's just my personal view that retail investors are the ones selling the most during a market downturn like the one we're experiencing now. Because most retail investors are so easily swayed by short-term conditions, they readily sell in the hope of preventing further losses if the price drops further. Institutional investors, on the other hand, typically have a more long-term investment strategy, making it less likely that short-term conditions will force them to sell all their Bitcoin holdings. However, that doesn't mean institutional investors are the strongest when it comes to holding. Bitcoiners who adhere to the HODL principle and long-term investors are the true holders, who can hold Bitcoin even when the price drops significantly, and even accumulate more, as if considering it a discount.

The only logic I can catch there is the mode their investment by which determines the status of their Bitcoin custodial. We know that institutional investors are not in custody of their Bitcoins but the authorities that provides the service does and it is ideal that anyone having a share in the institution should have an investment plan of holding in the long time and therefore, since they are not accessible to their Bitcoins, they can not afford to undertake the processes of engaging with an intermediary to sell their Bitcoin regularly but firmly holding persistently to achieve a goal. And until then they hits the portfolio, they rarely sell  and on the process, they don't panic while long term insurance is secured. Retail investors are self custody to their Bitcoins and therefore the accessibility could prompt convenient sell order (quick sell) and are easily driven by FOMO to sell their Bitcoins with a lot more reasons to sell like immediate needs and lack of managements. So, retailers sells rapidly while institutionals sells rare.

Holding can be practiced by anyone, we all have access to determine what we are holding and how we should hold, the bear is an opportunity to test our patience and hold, we can as well buy the more as the market also fall, anyone can hold, be it individual or corporate investors, as long as we have all it takes to maintain holding without the fear of missing out at every fall of the market.

It's difficult to answer for others, so I'll just give my own position: I didn't sell any BTC at a loss during this downturn. I'm holding on to what I have and buying a little BTC when I have new liquidity. I trade a little (spot) to take advantage of the volatility.

Institutional investors have the ability to hold Bitcoin for longer periods; unless the price drops significantly, they are unlikely to sell large quantities. Retail investors are more susceptible to FUD (Fear of Uncertainty) and are often the first to sell when a correction occurs.

I think there are regulatory measures that by standard obliges institutional investors to create returns to their clients, and this demands having a long term plan on bitcoin investment asset and this is they do strategically. And compromising to a panic sell to a loss when the price of bitcoin is drastically down would mean they would not be able to achieve their goals for clients. But the retail investors is literally answerable to no party, has no much financial backing to lean on and hold to wait whenever bitcoin price would go up since  for many of them the focus is usually short term profit.

Retail investors hold more. There are around 4m BTC owned by companies/government. Meanwhile the circulating supply of bitcoin is getting closer to 20m. So let's assume the circulating supply without involving BTC owned by companies and government are around 16m. It means majority of bitcoin supply is still being owned by the retail investors. It proves retail is better holders than institutional/government.

There's a high chance that retail investors are the ones selling the most. Well, I cannot blame them, especially those who just entered the market recently. They may not be used to the highly fluctuating market of Bitcoin, and they do not have the patience to wait at all. The institutional investors, on the other hand, may have only sold a portion of what they have. Just keeping it safe by selling an amount where they feel like they are near ROI and will probably buy back once it dives deeper. It will still be business for them. Still, I do hope that we can see more retail investors coming in. I think that is one of the keys to making the value of Bitcoin high again.

Yes, investing in Bitcoin is either a long-term strategy or part of a diversification plan. In both cases, there is no intention to sell out of panic or due to short-term fluctuations. Individual investors do not have long-term plans, and a sharp decline may force them to sell, even at a loss.