Santiment has reported that 135 new Bitcoin wallets have emerged in February, each holding 100 or more BTC, as retail traders exit the market amid ongoing volatility.
Recently, Bitcoin experienced significant price swings. It surged by over $10,000 within 12 hours, briefly reaching over $102,000 before retracing to around $96,000 and stabilizing at approximately $99,000.
Amid these fluctuations, on-chain data reveals increased accumulation activity among large holders while smaller investors have been trimming their positions.
Bitcoin Whales Accumulate as Retailers Exit
Market intelligence platform Santiment has highlighted these shifts in Bitcoin ownership. The report reveals that large holders have acquired more BTC tokens amid recent price swings.
In February, there were 135 new wallets holding at least 100 BTC, while the number of wallets holding less than 100 BTC dropped by 138,680.
This trend suggests that traders who joined the Bitcoin market within the last six months have been exiting their positions amid volatility.
Santiment notes that this is an ideal setup for crypto market to rise. However, the generally bullish impact of coins being absorbed by whales may take a few more weeks or even months to materialize.
Image of Bitcoin whale accumulation by Santiment
Categorizing Bitcoin Holders
Another analysis from IntoTheBlock adds weight to the data from Santiment. Over the past 30 days, Bitcoin whale holdings have remained unchanged, while investor holdings increased by 0.71%. Meanwhile, retail traders recorded a slight decrease of 0.01% in Bitcoin holdings.
The numbers in the whale segment suggest that the largest holders have remained positive, while mid-sized investors have been accumulating more BTC.
Bitcoin Historical Concentration
Inflows Into Accumulation Addresses
Data from CryptoQuant further emphasizes rising accumulation activity among large Bitcoin holders. On February 4, whale accumulation wallets received 31,226 BTC, valued at approximately $3 billion at current market prices. These inflows align with an ongoing trend of acquisitions by these addresses over the past week.
According to CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju, these transactions indicate the transfer of Bitcoin into custody wallets following over-the-counter (OTC) trades. He noted that such movements often suggest strategic accumulation by large holders seeking to exploit market fluctuations.
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