On-chain data shows that bitcoin whales have accumulated 84,897 BTC over the past five weeks, which could be bullish for the price.
Bitcoin whales have been growing lately
According to data from the on-chain analytics company saint, when whales accumulated in this way, the price jumped about 34%. A relevant indicator here is “BTC Supply Distribution,” which tells us the total amount (plus percentage) of Bitcoin supply that each wallet group in the market is currently holding.
The addresses on the network are divided into these groups of wallets based on the number of coins they hold in their balances at the moment. The 10-100 coin pool, for example, includes all addresses that currently hold at least 10 and 100 BTC.
Naturally, if the supply distribution were applied to this specific group, it would measure the amount of supply held by portfolios that meet this condition as a whole.
Now, in the context of the current discussion, the Bitcoin cluster of interest is the “whale” cluster. Whales are huge entities that hold a minimum of 1,000 BTC ($26.8 million at the current exchange rate) and a maximum of 10,000 BTC ($268 million) in their wallets. This means that the range of 1,000-10,000 coins is important here.
The chart below shows the trend in the distribution of bitcoin supply for this particular group over the past year:
The value of the metric seems to have been on the rise in recent days | Source: Santiment on Twitter
As shown in the chart, the bitcoin supply distribution of the whale group has observed a general bullish trend lately. Over the past five weeks, these giant investors have added about 84,897 BTC to their holdings, which is worth around $2.2 billion.
In general, the behavior of whales can be something to watch out for, as their huge holdings mean they have the potential to cause noticeable ripples in the market with their moves.
An example of this can be clearly seen in the diagram. In the run-up to and during the recovery in January this year, whales showed a tendency to accumulate and increased their supplies by around 71,690 BTC.
While this buildup occurred, the price of bitcoin began to rally and had risen by more than 34% by the time the whales slowed their buying spree. This trend highlights how buying pressure from this group can help push the price higher.
Since the whales started the last accumulation cycle, the price has been declining or moving sideways so far. But given that these holders continue to expand their reserves, it suggests that they believe the current relatively low prices provide a good buying opportunity.
It is not known when this bullish conviction by whales might translate into price, but the trend could be a positive signal for the long-term sustainability of the rally.
BTC price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at around $26,700, down 2% in the past week.
BTC has moved sideways recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
Featured image by Vivek Kumar on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net