Bitcoin whales, large holders of the cryptocurrency, have been actively accumulating more coins, indicating a return of confidence in the bull market. This surge in whale activity comes after Bitcoin reached its all-time high in March and experienced a significant market correction. Market intelligence firm CryptoQuant highlighted the strong buying force exhibited by whales, suggesting that they believe current prices are favorable for purchasing and accumulating Bitcoin, despite existing fear and market uncertainty. Analysts have noted a rise in the 30-day percentage change in whale address holdings and an increase in the total BTC balance held by whales.
Whales, defined as owners of Bitcoin addresses holding between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC, tend to buy Bitcoin more aggressively during bull markets and reduce their buying activity during bear markets. Throughout March, whales had increased their BTC holdings by over 9.8%. Although their accumulation rate slowed in April to 4.2% by May 1, coinciding with Bitcoin’s price decline to under $57,000, the metric has rebounded to 5.5% as of May 22. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju has noted that whales acquired 47,000 BTC during the sharp market dip in early May, further indicating their confidence in the asset’s long-term prospects. The amount of money invested by whales in Bitcoin has grown significantly from $57 billion to $122 billion since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin’s price has recently increased to $68,760, marking a 3% increase over the week and reflecting the renewed optimism in the market. Lead Glassnode analyst James Check emphasized that the Bitcoin network’s total realized cap has reached a record high of $578 billion, highlighting the strong fundamentals of the cryptocurrency. However, Check believes that the market is still far from entering the euphoria phase of the bull market, with current sentiment falling somewhere between enthusiasm and excitement.
Nearly 40% of institutional investors had some exposure to crypto assets in 2023, a notable rise from the 31% recorded in 2021. A recent survey revealed that a third of respondents reported having at least 10% of their portfolio allocated to crypto assets, compared to only a fifth of respondents two years ago. Markus Thielen, the head of research at 10x Research, had previously predicted that a breakthrough above $67,500 could potentially lead to new all-time highs. Currently, BTC is trading at $68,700, less than $5,000 away from reaching a new all-time high in U.S. dollars. Some analysts have turned bullish on Bitcoin following weeks-long consolidation, with leading trading firm QCP Capital expressing optimism about Bitcoin’s price momentum and forecasting a potential return to highs of $74,000.
