XRP ETF

Bitcoin

SoSoValue

Retail investors are backing away from stocks. Crypto is getting a different reception.
Individual investors put just $1 billion into single stocks over the past 20 trading days, <a href="https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2103915255747280917" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Kobeissi Letter</a> said in an X post on Sept. 26. That's close to the smallest 20-day total in at least two years, and roughly 95% below the about $20 billion they bought over a similar stretch in April 2025.&nbsp;
"Retail investors are trading less," Kobeissi wrote.
The gauge has been sliding for months. In early August, it dipped below zero, meaning individual investors were net sellers of single stocks for the first time since at least October 2024.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/michael-saylor-has-a-stark-warning-about-americas-financial-future" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Michael Saylor has a stark warning about America's financial future</a>
<h3 id="crypto-trading-picks-up">Crypto trading picks up</h3>
Crypto funds have moved the other way. As per <a href="https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/Total_Crypto_Spot_ETF_Fund_Flow?page=usBTC" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">SoSoValue</a>, the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in about $2.39 billion in the week ended Sept. 25, their strongest week since October 2025. The funds took in money on all five trading days.
Bitcoin was trading at&nbsp;$83,217.28 at the time of writing.
<figure><a href="https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/Total_Crypto_Spot_ETF_Fund_Flow?page=usBTC" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><img src="https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_675%2Cw_1200/MjI2NTUyMzI1OTYxOTUxMTE4/screenshot-2026-09-29-102621.png" height="307" width="1200"></a>
 <figcaption>
 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, Source: SoSoValue
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Spot <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/xrp" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XRP</a> ETFs added <a href="https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/us-xrp-spot" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$75.59 million</a> over the same week, with inflows on four of the five trading days, led by $22.65 million on Sept. 25.&nbsp;
XRP was trading at $1.49 at the time of writing.
<figure><a href="https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/Total_Crypto_XRP_ETF_Fund_Flow?page=usXRP" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a>
 <figcaption>U.S. spot XRP ETFs, Source: SoSoValue
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Those flows include large investors as well as individuals, so they don't show retail demand on their own.
<h3 id="more-on-thestreet-roundtable">More on TheStreet Roundtable:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/18-43m-crypto-shock-hits-robinhood-chain-as-53-tokens-face-scrutiny" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$18.43M crypto shock hits Robinhood chain as 53 tokens face scrutiny</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/california-governor-signs-opposite-of-trump-bill" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">California governor signs 'Opposite of Trump' bill</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/vitalik-buterin-makes-a-bold-claim-about-ethereums-future-" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Vitalik Buterin makes a bold claim about Ethereum's future</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="why-retail-is-stepping-back">Why retail is stepping back</h2>
Borrowing costs have jumped. The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/fed/fed-raises-rates-signals-another-hike-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">lifted its benchmark rate</a> to a range of 3.75% to 4% on Sept. 16, its first increase since 2023, and signaled more could come. A week later, the 5-year Treasury yield <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/stock-market-today/stock-market-today-dow-jones-sp-500-nasdaq-updates-sept-23-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">topped 5% for the first time since 2007</a>.
Individual investors were net sellers of U.S. stocks for an eighth straight week through Sept. 18, according to Bank of America data <a href="https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2103228447942226402" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">cited by Kobeissi</a>. They have pulled an average of $1.9 billion a week over the past month.
Whether crypto can hold retail's interest will largely depend on <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">bitcoin</a>. The cryptocurrency briefly traded above $87,000 last week before slipping to around $83,000 at the time of writing.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/major-gold-holder-suffers-2-65-billion-paper-loss-on-bullion-hitting-7-week-low" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Major gold holder suffers $2.65 billion paper loss on bullion hitting 7-week low</a>

Bitcoin ETFs pull in $2.4 billion as retail gives up on single stocks

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