Bitcoin whales accumulate $23b in BTC amid market uncertainty

Bitcoin whales have gone on a buying spree, accumulating $23 billion worth of BTC in just 30 days.

Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a significant shift in market dynamics over the past month, with whales, large-scale holders of the cryptocurrency, accumulating a significant amount of BTC.

According to on-chain data, around 404,448 BTC worth around $23 billion were moved to “permanent holder addresses,” indicating a clear accumulation phase. This trend was observed amid global market uncertainties and fears of further declines.

CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju highlighted this phenomenon in a series of posts on X. Expressing confidence in the potential development behind the scenes, he noted that a significant inflow of Bitcoin into these permanent addresses indicates a strategic accumulation by institutional entities, corporations, or even governments.

“We will know in a year,” Ju said, hinting at possible future announcements from these organizations regarding Bitcoin purchases in Q3 2024.

The accumulation appears to have gained momentum following the market crash on August 5, when Bitcoin’s price dropped to $49,800. Since then, the asset has recovered almost 14% and is around $57,000 at press time.

BTC price chart, May 15 – August 7 | Source: crypto.news

Despite this recovery, market sentiment remains cautious, as evidenced by the Bitcoin ‘Fear & Greed’ index showing a slight recovery from the ‘extreme fear’ level to 29.

Also on August 6, on-chain analyst Ali Martinez revealed that whales purchased over 30,000 BTC worth approximately $1.62 billion in just 48 hours.

This accumulation was reflected in the increased outflows from exchanges and the corresponding decrease in the supply of BTC held on trading platforms.

Interestingly, recent inflows are not linked to ETF wallets but are mostly held in custodial wallets with no outflows, further highlighting the strong holding behavior among these large investors.

With Bitcoin hovering around $57,000, market watchers are keeping a close eye on whether it will break out of the current consolidation range. Ju had previously suggested that if the Bitcoin price manages to stay above the $45,000 level, it could take the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high in the next 12 months.