- Whales continued to HODL BTC and refused to sell their holdings for a profit.
- Accumulation by retail investors slowed and activity on the BTC network remained high.
After reaching the $70,000 mark, the price of Bitcoin increases [BTC] stood still. Despite the plethora of opportunities for Bitcoin whales to indulge in profit taking, most of them continued to use HODL.
How are whales doing?
Data from Crypto Quant indicated that most whales had not succumbed to the temptation to sell their assets.
This behavior could significantly impact the future of Bitcoin. Their continued confidence in Bitcoin could also boost overall market sentiment, attract new investors and further increase demand.
Additionally, whales holding their BTC can dampen price volatility, making the market more attractive to institutional investors wary of big swings.
Source: Cryptoquant
Expectation of halving
Bitcoin whales may be holding onto their BTC due to anticipation of the upcoming halving. The halving, which occurs approximately every four years, is a programmed reduction in the reward for mining new blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain.
This event typically leads to a decrease in the rate at which new Bitcoin is created, ultimately decreasing the available supply of BTC in circulation.
Historically, past halving events have been associated with periods of increased scarcity and upward price pressure for Bitcoin. Therefore, whales can strategically hold their BTC in anticipation of a possible price increase after the halving.
By maintaining their Bitcoin holdings, whales not only position themselves to benefit from potential price increases, but also contribute to the overall reduction in available supply, which can further drive up prices.
Furthermore, the decision to choose HODL during this period may also reflect their confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value proposition.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2024-25
Surprisingly, retail investors were not that invested in BTC. AMBCrypto’s analysis of Santiment’s data showed that the supply of BTC held by addresses holding 0.01 to 1 BTC had decreased significantly over the past week.
Source: Santiment
In terms of the overall health of the network, the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network was seen to remain consistent. One of the reasons for this is said to be the rising popularity of BTC NFTs.
Source: Santiment