As the crypto market is turning bearish, top bitcoin addresses holding 100+ BTC seems to be booking profits by selling their holdings.

Glassnode on-chain data show that BTC Number of Addresses Holding 100+ Coins just reached a 4-month low of 15,915.

? #Bitcoin $BTC Number of Addresses Holding 100+ Coins just reached a 4-month low of 15,915

View metric:https://t.co/ceqO9LHIvs pic.twitter.com/2xrhXRy0u5

— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) January 27, 2022

While many would think the current bear season is the perfect time for investors to increase their bitcoin (BTC) holdings, fresh data from Glassnode suggests otherwise. 

According to Glassnode, the number of addresses holding at least 100 bitcoins has hit a four-month low amid current market turmoil. 

Glassnode stated on microblogging platform Twitter today that the number of unique addresses currently holding 100 units or more of the world’s largest cryptocurrency recently reached a four-month low of 15,915.  

Investors Panic Sell Amid Bear Market

The stats suggest that there is a possibility that investors are converting their BTC holdings to stablecoins, in a bid to save themselves from further price dips. 

Recall that bitcoin has been highly volatile since the beginning of the month. 

Things got worse towards the end of last week when the Bank of Russia suggested that its government should place a blanket ban on crypto-related activities, such as trading and mining. 

While the market regained stability on Sunday, news of Federal Reserve’s plans to increase interbank interest rates forced bitcoin to drop to a low of $33,000, and the first meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) yesterday wreaked further havoc on the cryptocurrency. 

So far, bitcoin has fallen over 47% since it peaked at $69,044 in November 2021, as several investors resist holding a large volume of the cryptocurrency due to fear of further price dip.

Yesterday Russian President Putin Came Forward To Support Crypto Said Russia Has Competitive Advantages In Bitcoin Mining.

American National Football League star Odell Beckham is losing 61% of his income after he decided to take salary in Bitcoin last year.

The Los Angeles Rams football club and Odell Beckham (known as OBJ) signed a contract for $750,000 in November 2021. At the same time, OBJ announced that he would receive 100% of his annual salary in Bitcoin – about 11 BTC annually.

Sports business analyst and The Action Network senior executive producer Darren Rovell tweeted that OBJ’s decision to move all his salary into BTC was not the most brilliant idea.

Rowell explained that as a result of the fall in the BTC(-46% of ATH), the current salary of OBJ will be only $413,000 compared to the original $750,000.

Moreover, after paying federal and state taxes at a combined rate of 50.3%, over the past two months, OBJ’s salary for his contract with Rams will be $35,000 which is a far cry from the $90,000 he would have earned if the salary was in fiat, making him lose 61% of his salary.

The amount of people applauding players changing their salary into Bitcoin as if they were heroes has been comical.

Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr., at least in the moment, provides a cautionary tale. pic.twitter.com/uW0QDdJrYy

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 23, 2022

Current US tax law provides that tax on income from crypto investments is calculated on the value of crypto assets at the date of their acquisition, and not on their actual value at the date of filing a tax return.

New York Mayor Eric Adams also recently received his first salary in bitcoin and ether.

Since last week, the cryptocurrency market has reacted to FOMC policy decisions that will usher in a transition from the loose monetary policy that defined the coronavirus pandemic era to a more tactical fight against rising inflation.

After the first meeting of the Federal reserves board in 2022 on Wednesday, Fed agreed to raise U.S. interest rates in March. Fed also confirmed to end its bond purchases before launching a significant reduction in its asset holdings.

Such a move would help to divert away from the loose monetary policy toward a more pressing fight against inflation.

On top of the measures to combat rising inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to introduce three rate hikes this year and taper the Fed’s bond-buying program, which saw its balance sheet rise to $9 trillion during the coronavirus pandemic.

Following indications from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of a likelihood to increase interbank interest rates in March in response to rising inflation, bitcoin, alongside the entire cryptocurrency market, ended a three-day winning streak. 

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose to a day high of $39,216 ahead of the meeting before a reversal that saw it slip to around $36,000. 

Fortunately, bitcoin’s late rally through $36,800 saved the day as traders were fortunate not to see the cryptocurrency fall back to this month’s low of $32,937. 

BTC suffered a major resistance around $39,200 before slumping 2.7% in the first hour when the FOMC statement was released. In reaction to the interest rate and press conference, the cryptocurrency fell 4.5% for the day. 

Bitcoin subsequently fell to $35,596 today and is currently trading around $36,000, according to data on Coingecko, as the market appears to have stabilized. 

Other cryptocurrencies in the top ten spots were not spared, with Solana (SOL) plummeting 7.4% for the day. 

Yesterday Russian President Putin said Russia Has Competitive Advantages In Bitcoin Mining.

Russia has competitive advantages in mining – a surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel.

President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with the government officials said:

“Of course, we also have certain competitive advantages, especially in crypto mining. I mean the surplus of electricity and the well-trained personnel available in the country,” he said.

The President asked the regulator and the government to come to a joint decision regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia in the near future and report on the results for the discussion.

On Jan 20, the Central Bank of Russia gave three proposals; the first one aims to prohibit cryptocurrencies as payments, the second is related to mining, and the last is related to financial institutions’ investments in digital assets.

• “Establish liability for the violation of the statutory ban on using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for goods, works and services sold and bought by Russian residents, whether legal entities or individuals. Prohibit the organization of the issue and/or the issue and the organization of the circulation of cryptocurrencies (including by cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency exchange offices, and P2P platforms) on the territory of the Russian Federation and establish liability for breaching this ban.
• Cryptocurrency mining should be banned as it creates unproductive consumption of electric power, which threatens the power supply of residential buildings, social infrastructure, and enterprises and implements Russia’s environmental agenda.
• Prohibit financial institutions’ investment in cryptocurrencies and related financial instruments like ETFs as well as the use of Russian financial intermediaries and Russian financial infrastructure to conduct cryptocurrency transactions, and stipulate liability for violating this ban.”

On January 25, the director of the financial policy department of the Ministry of Finance, Ivan Chebeskov, said that the ministry does not support the introduction of a ban on cryptocurrencies in Russia but advocates the regulation of this market.

The Russian state Putin noted that he is familiar with cryptocurrencies. He said that the Central Bank has its position on crypto: the regulator believes that activities associated with such highly volatile assets carry certain risks, primarily for citizens, but the regulator and the government departments should come to a joint decision regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia in the near future.

In October last year, Putin said that  “Cryptocurrencies Have A Right To Exist And Can Be Used For Settlements.”