Bitcoin whales continue dumping crypto as market conditions worsen

The number of Bitcoin (BTC) whales has been on a steady decline and is back to the levels earlier in 2022, according to blockchain intelligence firm Glassnode.

Glassnode also found that the volume of exchange inflows had risen sharply. Specifically, BTC addresses have traded in more than 1,700 coins — the highest level of inflows since February.

? #Bitcoin $BTC Exchange Inflow Volume (7d MA) just reached a 3-month high of 1,755.021 BTC

Previous 3-month high of 1,729.605 BTC was observed on 08 May 2022

View metric:https://t.co/1S6EbDkdOO pic.twitter.com/8kSJPOLJXW

— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) May 9, 2022

The high exchange inflow volumes suggest that whales are selling their holdings as they prepare for a long-term bearish market. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index currently sits at 11, an extreme fear region. 

BTC continues plunging, but daily transactions remain above 200K

Following the bullish performance in 2021, many analysts and organizations predicted that the BTC would continue surging. An example is American multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs, which said the flagship cryptocurrency could trade above $100,000. The bank said BTC could unlock this milestone if investors considered it a store of value.

However, a series of events, including the COVID Omicron variant and fears of hiked interest rates, saw BTC plunge sharply from its November 10 all-time high of $68,692.14. At the time of writing, BTC is changing hands at $33,503.12 after losing 3.17% in the day. This price represents a 14.06% drop over the past seven days.

As BTC continues underperforming, Glassnode’s lead on-chain analyst, Checkmate, took to Twitter to advise crypto adopters.

Checkmate said:

Many of you are waiting for the #Bitcoin ‘capitulation wick’. If it happens, and it really is THE capitulation wick, the majority of folks won’t step in a buy it because the fear will be too great. This is the way it always is, and always will be. Tip: have a plan, stick to it.

Although BTC is crashing, the number of daily transactions remains unaffected.

Data from YCharts indicates BTC recorded 233,892 transactions carrying about $30 billion on May 8. This volume has lain within the daily average range since January.