Large bitcoin (BTC) holders, commonly known as whales, are buying back more of the asset after a lull in early January and a flurry of profits, cryptoquant data shows.
The monthly percentage growth in Bitcoin holdings by large investors has accelerated from -0.25% on January 14 to +2% on January 17, the highest monthly rate since mid-December.
Such growth comes on the back of Donald Trump becoming the US president, with traders expecting him to introduce pro-crypto policies and build a strategic bitcoin reserve, both events that could burn institutional capital in the asset short. term. Key driver of BTC demand and price. Prominent recent buyers include Bitcoin Development Company MicroStrategy and Energy Management Systems Firm Kulr.
As such, selling pressure for Bitcoin has been greatly reduced after realizing daily profits as high as $10 billion as the asset approached $100,000 in December. Long-term bitcoin holders, seen as “smart money,” have sold more than 1 million BTC since September, and the behavior appears to be capped, a Coindesk analysis noted Wednesday.
Meanwhile, unrealized profit margins for dealers are now close to zero. In crypto terms, this often acts as a price floor during a bull market, suggesting that we may be at a stable point before the next move.
However, retail demand for Bitcoin appears to be cooling per Cryptoquant.
“Bitcoin’s apparent demand has continued with expansion territory (green area in the chart on the left). However, the rate of expansion has decreased from 279K Bitcoin in early December 2024 to 75K Bitcoin today,” the firm said in its Friday report.
Apparent demand is an on-chain metric used to measure the balance between Bitcoin’s production (newly minted coins) and changes in its inventory (coins that have been inactive for over a year).
“Demand growth needs to accelerate again for prices to rally significantly,” it added.
