Whales vs. Retail Traders
Bitcoin wallet owners with balances between 10 and 10,000 BTC have accumulated an impressive 81,338 bitcoins over the past six weeks, beginning March 26. This represents a 0.61% increase in the group’s total holdings. According to Santiment, this dynamic could herald a retest of the psychologically important $100,000 mark in the near future.
Whales' Bitcoin Wallets Show Confidence While Small Traders Lose Patience, Source: Santiment
“When big wallets gradually accumulate assets in parallel with panic selling by retail investors or selling out of boredom, it is usually a strong long-term sign that the price is biding its time for another breakout,” analysts at Santiment noted on the social network X.
Small players are losing confidence
In contrast to large investors, Bitcoin wallet owners with balances of less than 0.1 BTC sold about 290 bitcoins during the same period. This may indicate that small retail investors are either panicking or selling out of boredom due to the crypto asset’s prolonged consolidation below the $100,000 mark.
“As May progresses, key Bitcoin stakeholders are generally moving in the right direction if you are rooting for $100,000 per BTC in the near future,” Santiment argues.
ETFs see inflows
While retail investors are dumping their positions, spot bitcoin ETFs are seeing strong capital inflows. According to Farside, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted a total of $4.41 billion since March 26.
US Bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: Farside Investors
The divergence between the tactics of big players and retail traders during the current phase of Bitcoin price stabilization could become a decisive factor for the growth of the first cryptocurrency in the coming weeks.