Strong Accumulation Pushes BTC Above $44,500 for the First Time Since ETF Hype

The price of Bitcoin has regained its bullish momentum as more buyers accumulate BTC in the aftermath of the ETF hype. 

In the hours leading up to press time, Bitcoin rose above $44,500 for the first time in nearly four weeks. The latest rise means that the cryptocurrency has now recovered most of the losses in the aftermath of a “sell the news” event that followed the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. 

According to on-chain data, the market recovery has been led by a significant increase in the amount of BTC accumulated by large investors. Data provider Santiment notes that the number of addresses holding at least 1,000 BTC ($4,470,000) has grown during the period under consideration. 

The cluster of 1,000+ BTC whales now accounts for over 40% of the entire supply and has formed a foundation for the market resurgence.

The data further shows that these addresses accumulated more than 1% of the BTC supply in the past four weeks, scooping up assets at a cheap while other market participants wavered in confidence. 

🐳📈 #Bitcoin is back above $44.5K for the first time since the ‘#ETF hangover’ retrace began back on Jan. 12. This bounce is partially attributed to the rise in 1K+ $BTC wallet holdings. Their collective holdings are at their highest level in 14+ months. https://t.co/mxCoXJbHcW pic.twitter.com/FjZdmPeMvj

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 8, 2024

Bitcoin ETFs Finally Taking Off

The recent BTC rally and the notable on-chain accumulation are largely attributable to the newly launched spot Bitcoin ETFs.

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After struggling with an initial wave of dumps from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) ETF, the new ETFs have attracted significant trading volume and capital, with latest inflows currently dwarfing the outflows from GBTC.

Additionally, the newly launched ETFs (excluding GBTC) have now amassed over 187,000 BTC, nearly the same amount as Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy accumulated in three years. 

Tomorrow is the day the Green (187 BTC) switches places with the Orange (190 BTC).

It will have taken less than 30 days for the New9 to overtake MSTR in Bitcoin Holdings.

ETFs are eating the world. They ate every other asset class, and they’re having Bitcoin for desert. pic.twitter.com/sJDMMxg8sl

— Fred Krueger (@dotkrueger) February 8, 2024

The sustained demand and inflows may prove a strong catalyst as the asset gradually enters the mainstream traditional finance industry.

Many predictions back ETFs to propel BTC to a six-figure price range later this year. In the meantime, the leading crypto asset is trading at $44,700, representing a 10% gain in the past week.