Key Insights:
- Bitcoin price is consolidating near $95k.
- Bitcoin OG has been selling since December, and he still holds 2500 Bitcoin. So, if he continues selling, there could be more pressure on the BTC price.
- Bitcoin ETF turns red on Friday, suggesting institutions are also pausing after a robust weekly inflow through Thursday.
Last week Bitcoin price pushed above $97,000 for the first time in 2 months. Rising bullish optimism and healthy demand underpinned the rally. But it only lasted halfway into the week before the bulls ran out of steam.
BTC price has since retreated to the $95,000 level and hovered there during the weekend. This outcome signaled a bit of indecisiveness as far as market direction was concerned. However, the fact that Bitcoin price consolidated near the $95,000 level also meant that it was gradually climbing the wall of uncertainty.
Although there was some sell pressure in the second half of the week, the limited downside demonstrated growing bullish confidence. Holders were less willing to take short-term profits in the hopes that BTC price would rally above $100,000.
OG Whale Contributes to Bitcoin Price Retracement in the Second Half
Recent on-chain data revealed that one of the whales that acquired Bitcoin more than a decade ago was among those contributing to sell pressure. An address that received 5,000 BTC roughly 12 years ago reportedly sold 500 BTC in the last 24 hours.
Lookonchain data revealed that the same whale started selling some of his BTC holdings in December 2024. The same whale has so far sold off about half of its holdings at an average price of $106,164.
This means the whale has so far gotten at least $265 million from the sale of half his holdings. A 15,000% plus return from the initial investment of $1.66 million.
The OG Bitcoin whale was one of many whales who have recently been offloading large amounts of Bitcoin over the last few months. They are part of the reason why the market has been contemplating whether BTC was still moving under the rules of the 4-year cycle or whether things are different this time.
Bitcoin Price Uncertainty Reflected the Recent Demand Pause Among BTC ETFs
The recent bullish pause also aligned with Bitcoin ETF flows. This category of holders initially maintained aggressive demand last week, up until Thursday.
However, Bitcoin ETFs flipped to outflows on Friday, during which they sold $394 million BTC. These outflows aligned with the recent demand pause and consolidation near the $95,000 price level.
It remains to be seen whether ETFs will continue to offload more coins into the market this week. Similarly, analysts kept a keen eye on whale activity this weekend to establish sell-side intensity. The bullish pause in the second half of last week offered a chance to assess whether sell pressure would take over or give way to more upside in the coming days.
The outcome this week underscored limited downside despite uncertainty. Moreover, market sentiment briefly jumped back to greed territory after pushing as high as 61 points. It has since then reverted to neutral at 49 points at the time of observation.
The sentiment spike also highlighted rising accumulation, although there was some slight profit-taking by short-term holders.
Recovering sentiment suggests that Bitcoin may push above $100,000 in the coming days. Whales maintained a bullish bias this weekend, with $9 million in net spot inflows and almost $500 million in longs across Binance, OKX, and Coinbase.