Bitcoin Whales Increasing Holdings: Wallets with 100+ Reach 17-Month Peak

Recently, Bitcoin whales have been demonstrating notable activity, accumulating more cryptocurrency even as smaller investors feel compelled to sell their assets.

Growth in Larger Wallets

Data provided by the blockchain analytics firm Santiment indicates that the number of Bitcoin wallets containing 100 BTC or more has reached a 17-month high, following a wave of accumulation over the past month.

As of August, over 283 wallets have crossed the 100 Bitcoin threshold, indicating a significant rise in holdings.

Santiment noted: “As cryptocurrency prices have disappointed retail traders, the number of Bitcoin whales is growing. A net increase of 283 wallets holding at least 100 BTC has been observed in just one month.” Currently, there are 16,120 such wallets on the network, marking a new high.

During the same timeframe, there has been a rise in wallets holding at least 10 BTC, often referred to as “sharks.”

The total holdings across these wallets, ranging from 10 to 10,000 BTC, are estimated to have accumulated over 133,000 coins worth more than $7.6 billion in the last 30 days.

Whales Acquiring More Cryptocurrency as Smaller Traders Withdraw

Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and Hashcash inventor, stated that following a price drop of Bitcoin from over $62,000 to near $58,000 on August 28, whales have been actively purchasing Bitcoin. He remarked, “Whales are buying 450 BTC each day, every moment. This matches the bitcoins mined daily. Go ahead, sell them cheaply.”

Santiment attributed the increase in whale purchases to the behavior of smaller investors who are “impatiently divesting their holdings to them.” Analyst Axel Adler Jr speculated that smaller traders may feel pressured to sell as prices fall below their initial purchase points.

The current state of the Crypto Fear and Greed Index stands at 26, currently indicating a level of “Fear.” Throughout August, the index exhibited more fear than greed, maintaining an average rating of 37 within the “Fear” category.

Despite the prevailing fear, Vivek Sen, founder of Bitgrow Lab, suggested that increased whale activity could signal positive momentum for the market. Historically, significant purchases by whales have often led to new all-time highs for Bitcoin.

Sen noted, “The last time whales made significant purchases, Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high.”