The story hasn’t been much different for Bitcoin’s price this week, as the leading cryptocurrency struggles to capitalize on recent developments. According to data from CoinGecko, BTC has fallen more than 3% in the past week, raising doubts about the continuation of the bull run.
However, the latest revelation on the chain has provided some relief, suggesting that Bitcoin’s value may recover substantially in the coming weeks.
Could the accumulation of whales trigger the continuation of the bull cycle?
Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed – via a post on the X platform – that the number of Bitcoin whales has increased significantly in recent days. This is based on the ‘Number of entities with at least 1,000 BTC balance’ metric from on-chain analytics company Glassnode.
According to the latest Glassnode data, the number of addresses holding at least 1,000 BTC surpassed 1,510 on Thursday, January 18. This figure represents the highest level of the statistic in more than 15 months (since August 2022).
Chart showing the number of entities with at least 1,000 BTC | Source: Ali_charts/X
Large holders, commonly known as ‘whales’, are considered relevant entities in the cryptocurrency market due to their ability to influence prices and market sentiment. Therefore, a notable increase in the number of whales often indicates growing confidence in a cryptocurrency – in this case Bitcoin.
Moreover, this increase in the number of whales indicates a potential accumulation among large investors and institutions. The acquisition of large Bitcoin amounts is a positive sign for the market leader, especially when it comes to price performance.
A recent report from Santiment reinforces this argument, saying that Bitcoin’s increased whale accumulation would be a “key factor” in helping to spark a new bull run for the flagship cryptocurrency and the entire sector.
????If the #crypto weekend starts, shark and whale levels for #Bitcoin & top #stablecoins remain slightly decreasing:
???? 10-10K #Bitcoin portfolios: 66.27% of the offering
???? 100K-10M #Tether portfolios: 33.98% of the offering
???? 100K-10M #USDCoin portfolios: 35.49% of the offerThere can be multiple events
(Continued) ???? pic.twitter.com/qu6SqG4Qis
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 20, 2024
The blockchain analytics firm also highlighted the accumulation of the Tether and USDC stablecoins as a vital signal for the cryptocurrency market’s return to its recent high.
Bitcoin price overview
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price stands at $41,593, reflecting an increase of 1.1% in the past 24 hours. However, this doesn’t fully tell the story of the coin’s performance over the past day, as it briefly fell below $41,000.
According to data from CoinGecko, BTC has fallen by more than 5% in the past 14 days. The cryptocurrency has reversed all the gains and more from the recent launch of exchange-traded funds in the United States.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin retains its place as the largest cryptocurrency in the industry, with a market capitalization of over $814 billion.
Bitcoin's price reclaims $41,000 on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
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