Analysis

Bitcoin Whales Accumulate $3 Billion Despite Price Dip In January: Where Will BTC Price Go From Here?

Bitcoin Whales Accumulate $3 Billion Despite Price Dip In January: Where Will BTC Price Go From Here?

Adekunle Joshua

Key Insights

  • Despite a price drop, Bitcoin whales have significantly increased their holdings by $3 billion, suggesting long-term confidence.
  • The January debut of Bitcoin ETFs drove institutional interest and contributed to whale buying.
  • Heavy selling from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust temporarily dipped prices, creating buying opportunities for whales.
  • Historical data also suggests a correlation between whale buying and Bitcoin price increases.
  • The short-term outlook on BTC leans bearish with a potential drop to $40,000, but bulls could still push for a $45,000+ rally.

Bitcoin has been the source of most of the crypto market's hype in 2024, especially with the recent ETF approvals, and the upcoming halving slated for April this year.

This attention has been so profound that so far, the whales have stacked a whopping $3 billion worth of BTC in January alone, according to data from IntoTheBlock.

The Rise of Bitcoin ETFs

The January launch of the first spot ETFs in the United States was one of the biggest contributing factors to the surge in demand for Bitcoin among the whales.

The crypto community welcomed the idea of ETFs in general, believing it to be a sign of massive institutional interest in the cryptocurrency

According to a recent tweet from Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, despite the massive selling spree from Grayscale investors last week, the ETFs alone have garnered a total of about $820 million in the first month since launch.

Nearly $1 billion in inflows since launch | Source: Twitter

So far, these ETFs have added some degree of volatility to the price of BTC, which hit a new monthly high of  $48,900 on 11 January, after a false announcement of an ETF approval hit the internet.

The rally turned out to be short-lived, and the ETFs have been largely hindered by the strong selling of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

However, BTC has remained relatively stable, and the whales have taken every opportunity to buy the cryptocurrency at a discount.

The Bargain Hunting of Bitcoin Whales

As mentioned earlier, the whales have also been spending time amassing additional coins, whenever Bitcoin dips.

They also had several opportunities to do so amid the GBTC sell-off, and the following decline in the price of the cryptocurrency.

According to a recent tweet from IntoTheBlock, the BTC whales have increased their $BTC holdings by around $3 billion ( or about 76,000 BTC) since the start of this year.

The Bitcoin whales' balance

The whale activity, represented by the blue line in the chart below, appears to have a positive correlation with the bitcoin price, represented by the black line.

In essence, we can conclude that when the whales buy more, the price tends to go up, and vice versa.

The Outlook for Bitcoin

According to data from CoinMarketCap, BTC is currently down by around 1.14% over the last day, while registering a small 3.45 dip over the last week.

Bitcoin's price

The cryptocurrency currently trades at around $41,900 and has lost its footing above $42,000 for the second time in the last two weeks.

In the charts, BTC broke above the 20-day EMA in its initial march towards $42,300.

Bitcoin's price action

However, the cryptocurrency has reversed for a retest of this moving average and is now on the verge of another drop to $40,000.

The bears might have the full chance to take control of the market if we see a break below $41,931 where the 20-day EMA currently sits.

However, overall, the RSI on the daily chart still shows neutrality, indicating that the bulls might still be able to pull off a rally to $45,000 or even higher in the coming days.

Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.