26 May 2024
The Bitcoin price has cooled off after surging to as high as $71,000 on the back of the Ethereum ETF approval news last week. Not long after the price spike, the premier cryptocurrency witnessed a correction to $67,000 and appears to be back in a consolidation range.
Interestingly, Bitcoin whales seem to be awakening from their slumber, as they have been loading their bags with significant BTC amounts in the past few days. This begs the question – can the returning whales’ appetite push Bitcoin to a new record-high price?
Is A Return To All-Time High Imminent?
A pseudonymous analyst shared in a CryptoQuant Quicktake post that Bitcoin whales are showing an increased buying appetite and getting active in the market once again. The relevant indicators here are the total whale holdings and a moving average tracking a 30-day percentage change in the balance.
Whales are entities (individuals or organizations) that own substantial amounts of a cryptocurrency (typically at least 1,000 BTC, in this case). Due to the size of their holdings, whales are often able to influence price movements and market dynamics through their activities.
In the Quicktake post, the on-chain analyst noted a recent increase in the monthly percentage change in whale address holdings and a steady rise in the total whale balance. The pseundonymous pundit said:
The whales’ appetite for buying Bitcoin has returned strongly, after a two-month decline in buying interest since March.
From the chart above, it was observed that the Bitcoin whales had increased their holdings by more than 11% in March when the BTC price hit a new all-time high of $73,737. However, the BTC accumulation rate steadied in April, with the 30-day percentage change falling to around 3% by the end of the month.
Bitcoin accumulation appears to be on the rise in May, with the monthly percentage change returning to above 5% as of May 24. The CryptoQuant analyst said in the post:
They [whales] are now returning with a strong buying force again, indicating that the current prices are suitable for purchasing and accumulating despite the widespread fear.
If the whale accumulation of BTC returns to its March level, there is an increased likelihood of the Bitcoin price returning to and perhaps surpassing its current all-time high. This projection is even more plausible considering that the premier cryptocurrency did forge a new high the last time the whales accumulated BTC at that rate.
Bitcoin Price At A Glance
As of press time, the price of Bitcoin stands at around $69,216, reflecting a bare 0.8% increase in the past 24 hours.