The entire crypto market has been through a lot in 2022 alone. Bitcoin has dropped by more than 50% from its price originally at the start of the year, and many other altcoins have dropped as much as 90% over the last year.
Cryptocurrencies like Solana and XRP have been through several hurdles throughout 2022. Solana, in particular has had serious woes involving the constant shutdown of its blockchain.
Memecoins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin have lost billions of dollars in market cap. Several Defi exchanges and marketplaces, like Opensea, Coinbase, and Blockchain.com, have been forced to lay off employees due to this year's unfavorable conditions.
Put simply, the storm in 2022 has not been easy to weather.
However, despite the cloudy skies, a few rays of sunshine occasionally shine through, reigniting hope for some and giving others the strength to HODL.
One of the most recent rays of sunshine, according to crypto Santiment, is the rate at which the whales are starting to add back some of the USDT they have dumped across the market since 2021.
According to Santiment's on-chain analysis of the stablecoin (USDT) distribution, the whales holding the highest amounts of USDT are starting to return some of the coins they dumped from late 2021 through the end of July.
Over time and according to Santiment, there is an observed correlation between an uptrend in the price of bitcoin and the buying power of stablecoins from large holders.
When this happens, it is usually indicative of bulls making plans to make a move on bitcoin.
Considering Bitcoin's history with the stablecoin USDT, the price of the former has always reacted positively to the growth of USDT's supply in whale addresses. This happens because an increase in USDT holdings by whales means that the big players are gearing up for another move on the market.
However, according to USDT's supply statistics, the stablecoin's circulating supply is nowhere near what it originally was at the beginning of the year.
On the other hand, Bitcoin is currently trending toward the support level of around $18,300 support. The bitcoin price last tested this level in mid-September after the news of the FED-rate hike hit the internet.
Bitcoin is expected to bounce off this level as the bulls defend it. However, the overall outlook on the market is bearish. The bulls may lose the fight to hold the $18,300 zone, causing a devastating drop to the $17,000 zone and possibly the $14,000 zone if the bearish momentum is strong.
Disclaimer: The author's comments and recommendations are solely for educational and informative purposes. They do not represent any financial or investment advice. Always DYOR (do your own research)