Bitcoin numbers are not impressive at all.
The crypto market has been having it rough of late, and even the largest coin, Bitcoin, hasn’t been spared. The wrath of the bears has driven the top crypto from a high of over $40k to the current range of $31k within a month. The apparent price crash may be creating a panic in the market and causing HODLers to jump ship.
According to information released by Glassnode, the number of Bitcoin whales is decreasing at an alarming rate. As of January 19, 2022, BTC whales in the market totaled 1,781. Today, the number has decreased to 1,776, marking an 18-month low. Apparently, these lost whales are transferring their coins to exchanges.
? #Bitcoin $BTC Number of Whales just reached a 18-month low of 1,776
Previous 18-month low of 1,781 was observed on 19 January 2022
View metric:https://t.co/k1K8OK2tl3 pic.twitter.com/19Sox3XWva
— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) May 11, 2022
Decline of Bitcoin investors (Whales) holding above 100 BTC is a worrying sign that shows that big investors are no more confident and continuously selling their holdings to avoid losses.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Data collected by Santiment indicates that exchanges have experienced a sudden inflow of Bitcoin from external wallets controlled by whales.
In just one week, the inflow rate has spiked by a margin representing a whopping 0.52% of BTC’s total supply. That’s a lot of BTC coins considering that the supply is currently at over 19 million mined coins. This is the highest inflow rate seen by crypto exchanges in 16 months.
? Exchanges have seen a massive 0.52% of #Bitcoin's supply returning to exchanges in just a week. With high volatility and polarizing perspectives toward $BTC during this pullback, this is the fastest rise of supply returning to exchanges in 16 months. https://t.co/ToEBLsTyCL pic.twitter.com/kQokBIuezm
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) May 10, 2022
Glassnodes reports also confirm exchange inflows. BTC Whales have moved around $105 million into exchanges over the last 7 days. This marks the highest such figure in 6 months. The previous 6-month record stood at around $104.9 million.
? #Bitcoin $BTC Exchange Inflow Volume (7d MA) just reached a 6-month high of $105,095,084.60
Previous 6-month high of $104,907,876.33 was observed on 07 December 2021
View metric:https://t.co/dzmYWUYjoL pic.twitter.com/yKTqZxyOZ9
— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) May 10, 2022
Each day, the flow is counted in the thousands. Data shows that another 28K Bitcoins were transferred to exchanges within 24 hours.
Another 28k #Bitcoin sent to exchanges today. https://t.co/b3SJ90a5gu pic.twitter.com/zs80Pvx5qY
— xaman (@xamanap) May 10, 2022
From a critical point of view, this whale activity isn’t unfounded. The markets have been going red day in, day out. Given that the crypto market is known to make sudden moves, the continued price drops may have spooked the whales into dumping mode. On the other hand, the whales may not be necessarily moving their stash to sell. They could as well be moving to edge with other coins on exchanges.
What Does This Mean For Bitcoin?
It’s still not clear whether the whales are moving to dump their stash if they anticipate a certain market movement. A dump would lead to more pain in the Bitcoin market and possibly cause further dumping. On the other hand, the whales’ steady holding could stabilize the market and instill more investor confidence, thereby attracting investors and propping up the price. Time will tell.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.