Expert Sees Bitcoin Hitting $300-500K as Whales Ramp up Buying Activity

Bitcoin hits a multi-month high, sparking increased whale activity, record accumulation in addresses, and a surge in futures open interest.

Bitcoin (BTC) opened the week on a strong note, surging to a new multi-month high of $69,500 on Monday. However, it failed to maintain its momentum toward the $70,000 mark, leading to a retracement to $67,563.

This represents a 2.08% decline over the last 24 hours, despite maintaining a 3.22% increase in the past week. Notably, Bitcoin’s recent price action has sparked an increase in whale activity, with large-scale investors steadily accumulating the crypto.

Whale Activity Grows 

As Bitcoin fluctuates near its all-time highs, Michaël van de Poppe, Chief Investment Officer & Founder of MN Consultancy, observed that whale activity is on the rise. Whales have been actively buying more despite the current price range.

Even though #Bitcoin is ranging around the ATH’s, the activity on whales is increasing and they are buying more.

In essence: that’s a great sign for #Bitcoin, but a terrible sign for the global economy.

What can we expect?
– I think we’ll see #Bitcoin run to $300-500K. pic.twitter.com/JKuRh1khpr

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 21, 2024

Van de Poppe suggests that this trend is a positive sign for Bitcoin, indicating strong market confidence, even if broader economic concerns loom. The increased whale activity could signal expectations of further growth, possibly even pushing Bitcoin toward targets of $300,000 to $500,000.

Accumulation Addresses at 2.9M BTC

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant, a leading on-chain data provider, reports that Bitcoin accumulation addresses now hold over 2.9 million BTC.

These addresses, known for their steadfast holding behavior, have nearly doubled their Bitcoin holdings since January 2024, when they had just 1.5 million BTC. Accumulation addresses typically have no outflows, hold at least 10 BTC, and have been active for over seven years. 

Notably, the rapid growth of these addresses in 2024 marks a shift from previous years, as these addresses held only 100,000 BTC in 2018 and surged to 700,000 BTC during the 2021 bull run. At the current pace, the total BTC in these addresses could exceed 3 million by year-end, potentially surpassing a market value of $210 billion.

Bitcoin Futures OI Hits New Peaks

In parallel with increased accumulation, Open Interest (OI) in Bitcoin futures has also reached new highs. Coinglass data shows that OI surged to $40.5 billion by October 21, surpassing its previous all-time high of $40.38 billion.

Similarly, CryptoQuant reports that OI across major crypto exchanges peaked at $20.89 billion, marking heightened investor participation. 

The difference between Coinglass and CryptoQuant’s OI figures is attributed to the range of exchanges each platform monitors, with Coinglass including data from CME and others. The spike in OI suggests increased trading activity, which could contribute to higher volatility in the near term.