Bitcoin has recorded multiple dips in recent weeks that have pushed its price below $60,000. The slump came as a result of sell-offs from investors who believe that the asset has reached its peak. Panic had spread like wildfire, triggering even more sell-offs but not everyone gave in.
Whales have always been known to gobble up the bitcoins that small-time investors unload during periods of panic and this time has proven to be no different. While the broader market panic sold their holdings, bitcoin whales took advantage of the opportunity to pad up their holdings, snapping up billions in the digital asset during the dip.
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Whales Load Up On Bitcoin
Data analytics firm Santiment recently published a report showing whale activity during the recent dip. In the report, the firm notes that while the sell-off was taking place, whales had significantly increased their holdings. These whale wallets containing 100 to 10,000 BTC took full advantage of the panic in the market and picked up about 59,000 BTC last week.
🐳 If you've been waiting for #Bitcoin whales to show signs of accumulation, our data indicates it's happening once again. In the past week, a total 59k $BTC has been added to addresses that hold between 100 to 10k $BTC. This is 0.29% of the total supply. https://t.co/xbZms4GtKm pic.twitter.com/eeRrnrISRM
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) November 25, 2021
BTC slumps to $54K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
This figure shows that in one week alone, these whale wallets have accumulated about $3.3 billion worth of bitcoin, which amounts to an additional 0.29% of the circulating supply now controlled by the whales.
It would seem with every downward correction, small-time investors lose even more hold on the market as whales remain at the ready to mop up the coins that investors dump in their panic.
Crypto Market Dives Into Fear
The panic that gripped the market after bitcoin began its downtrend was evident in the Fear & Greed Index. The index had remained in greed territory for the better part of last month but that change recently after the first signs of a market correction. Market sentiment had dropped so far into negative that in the space of a week, the index was back into neutral territory and then fear not too long after.
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The Fear & Greed Index score continued to drop, hitting a new two-month low after dropping to 32 on Thursday. This puts the market in full panic mode leading to more sell-offs in the market. However, whales have taken full advantage of this for their benefit.
Whales accumulating bitcoin has however always spelled good news for the market. Cumulatively, these high-volume addresses hold enough to have a certain sway over the market. Thus, as long as they refuse to sell and instead purchase more of the asset to increase their holdings, then the fewer coins are on exchanges to lead to a continued downtrend.
Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com
