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Bitcoin Price Recovery Lacks Whale Participation, Onchain Data Show

Blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock's "large holder netflow" indicator shows whales are yet to resume accumulation.

By Omkar Godbole
AccessTimeIconApr 15, 2024 at 9:44 a.m. UTC
Updated Apr 15, 2024 at 7:28 p.m. UTC
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  • Large holders or wallets owning at least 0.1% of bitcoin's circulating supply are yet to resume accumulation, according to IntoTheBlock.
  • Traders should closely watch the ETF flows on Monday.

Bitcoin (BTC) has recovered 3% since hitting lows near $61,000 over the weekend. Whales, however, are yet to buy the positive turnaround aggressively.

Blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock's "large holder netflow" indicator shows that addresses owning at least 0.1% of BTC's circulating supply have added just over 3,000 BTC ($198 million) today. That's significantly less than the net inflow of nearly 80,000 BTC ($5.3 billion) seen a day after March 20's dip below $61,000.

According to IntoTheBlock, large wallets or whales are good at timing the market, often picking the best moments to accumulate or distribute coins. Thus, tracking the netflow indicator offers insights into what large traders are thinking and the sustainability of the ongoing trend.

The lack of whale participation in the recovery means whales likely expect a deeper price slide. Bitcoin fell over 5% last week as the rally in the dollar index and Iran-Israel tensions triggered an outflow of money from risk assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies and into gold.

Per IntoTheBlock, the netflow indicator is sensitive to wallets tied to U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and traders should closely watch the ETF flows on Monday.

Bitcoin: large wallets netinflow vs price. (IntoTheBlock, TradingView)
Bitcoin: large wallets netinflow vs price. (IntoTheBlock, TradingView) (IntoTheBlock, TradingView)

Edited by Oliver Knight.

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Omkar Godbole
Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.

Follow @godbole17 on Twitter

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