For the past few years, Bitcoin’s price has been on a rollercoaster ride, and so have the emotions of its holders. After dropping by more than 50% from its all-time high of nearly $69k in November 2021, Bitcoin bounced back to $45k briefly but then went through another downward spiral to hit a three-month low of $18.9k on June 18, 2022. Since then, the price has been struggling to break out of the $20k-$30k range, and the sentiment in the market has been mixed.
However, one group of Bitcoin holders seems more optimistic than others, as they have resumed accumulating the crypto asset en masse despite the recent market turbulence. These whale addresses hold 100-1k BTC, often regarded as influential players in the Bitcoin ecosystem due to their large holdings and potential impact on the price.
Whale Agiotage Could Hint at Bitcoin’s Positive Prospect
According to the latest data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment, whale addresses with 100-1k BTC have added 20,007 BTC to their holdings in the past two days after a month-long selling period. This suggests that these whales are confident about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects and see the current dip as a buying opportunity.
Not all whale addresses are created equal, and some may have different transaction strategies or motives. For instance, there are also whale addresses with more than 1k BTC, which have been selling more than buying lately, possibly to take profits or rebalance their portfolios. Moreover, some of the whales may be institutional investors or high-net-worth individuals with access to over-the-counter markets or derivatives not reflected in the on-chain data.
Nonetheless, the trend of whale accumulation in the lower range of BTC holdings could indicate that some retail investors or small-scale traders are also following their lead and buying the dip. This could provide some support to the price and prevent it from falling further, as it did in the previous bear market of 2018-2019 when whale selling exacerbated the sell-off.
 
 
Bitcoin Price: What’s Been Going On?
Speaking of the price, Bitcoin has been oscillating between the $30.5k resistance and the $28.7k support level for the past few days, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage yet.
The short-term’s lack of a clear direction could reflect the uncertainty and indecision among traders and investors, who are waiting for more clarity on the regulatory and macroeconomic fronts. The recent crackdown on crypto mining and trading in China and the potential tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s rates could significantly impact Bitcoin’s price and perception as a safe-haven asset or a speculative bubble.
The whale accumulation of Bitcoin and the price consolidation around the $20k-$30k range are contrasting but related signals reflecting the ongoing tug-of-war in the cryptocurrency market. Whether the whales are right in their bullish outlook and whether the price can break out of its current range remains to be seen. What is certain is that the crypto world is never short of drama and surprises.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/data-highlights-massive-btc-accumulation-by-whales-as-extreme-fear-grips-bitcoin-price/