Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset, is currently at a standstill from the perspective of many investors given current market factors. The crypto traded mainly between $41,000 and $45,500 last week after recovering from a brief dip below $40,000 on January 23.
While the price action was disappointing, data from the chain suggests that large holders have added more to their wallets, bringing the total number of wallets to the highest level in 15 months. At the same time, the ownership pattern indicates that smaller whales have expanded their holdings to join the next level of holders.
Large containers are piling up
It appears that Bitcoin holders have taken steps to push the cryptocurrency higher, as evidenced by the increasing number of whale wallets. According to on-chain analytics platform Santiment, the number of Bitcoin addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC saw an increase of 47 additional wallets, representing a growth of 2.5%, in six days. As a result, the number of addresses in this level reached 1,958 on February 1, the highest point since November 2022.
#Bitcoin ranges between $41,000 and $44,000, but whale portfolios are up big this week:
Quantity 1K-10K $BTC Portfolios: 1,958 as of February 1 (most since November 2022)
Quantity 100-1K $BTC Portfolios: 13,735 as of February 1 (at least since November 2022)https://t.co/MTOnjURnfV pic.twitter.com/QrxW8CH5c2
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 3, 2024
Furthermore, Santiment’s data showed the decline in the number of wallet addresses in the level below. That is, those who own between 100 and 1,000 BTC. The number of wallets in this series decreased by 154 addresses during the same period, which represents a decrease of 1.1%. As a result, the number of addresses in this tier fell to 13,735 on February 1, the lowest point since November 2022.
Bitcoin currently trading at $43,055 on the daily chart: TradingView.com
What does this say about Bitcoin?
The accumulation by a large number of large holders indicates continued confidence in the crypto despite the current consolidation, but the accumulation of whales is just one of many market factors influencing the crypto’s price. Bitcoins price trajectory may seem unclear at the moment, but the macro outlook points to positive movement on the fundamental side of things. One of them is the recent capital flows of $1.7 billion in Bitcoin spot ETFs over the past 14 days.
According to crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe, Bitcoin’s current consolidation could continue in the coming months before the next halving. The analyst noted resistance at $48,000 to $50,000, and another correction towards $36,000 to $38,000.
My general theory is that #Bitcoin will consolidate in the coming months.
Pre-halving a final run towards resistance at $48-50K, then another correction to $36-38K and from there #Altcoins to outperform Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/sYiqpg3T93
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 3, 2024
From a different perspective, Justin Bennett, another popular crypto analyst on social media, says: predicted a bearish Bitcoin in the near future. According to him, Tether’s dominance chart suggests a further decline in BTC to around $30,000. This price range coincides with analyst PlanB absolute Bitcoin price bottom of $31,000.
Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average is 31k. When the bitcoin price deviates from 200WMA, in accumulation (blue) and bull markets (orange/red), bitcoin has never been below 200WMA. So 31k could be the absolute bottom, and bitcoin could IMO never see 31k again. 200WMA also rises… pic.twitter.com/3kqSbXWLjU
— PlanB (@100 trillionUSD) February 3, 2024
Bitcoin is trading at $42,909 at the time of writing.
Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from TradingView
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