The whales moved 27,860 BTC from exchanges to unknown wallets and 13,615 BTC vice versa. The price tried to break above USD 45,000 earlier in the week but fell to around USD 38,000 over the weekend.
Bitcoin whales have moved 48,652 BTC through 34 transactions, a considerable decrease in their activity from the previous week. The following analysis shows the details and the influence that may or may not have had on the price performance of the pioneering cryptocurrency.
There has been a sustained accumulation of BTC by Bitcoin whales in the past week amid somewhat quiet activity.
It is necessary to contextualize that activity to better dig into the status of the whales and the market as a whole. However, this is just a micro approach to one of the many factors that can influence the performance of BTC.
Weekly Analysis of the Activity of the Bitcoin Whales
The predominant trend was accumulation, as 27,860 BTC went from exchanges to unknown wallets, equivalent to 57.26% of the weekly total. Almost all of those addresses had a strong HODL, as very few moved their coins.
The introduction of liquidity to the market was the second-strongest trend, with whales moving 13,615 BTC from unknown wallets to exchanges. The amount transferred in that way represents 27.98% of the weekly total.
In third place, the whales transferred 7,177 BTC between exchanges, for a weekly total of 14.75%. Finally, those long-term holders did not make transfers between unknown wallets.
The Performance of Bitcoin over the Last Seven Days
The short-term downward trend of Bitcoin that began in November continues. Its price is currently 40% below its all-time high above USD 69,000.
Bitcoin is trading at around USD 37,857 and has accumulated a 10.3% loss in the last week. Its trading volume is above USD 22.31 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 717 billion, according to CoinGecko.
There was also a pullback from the price attempt to break above USD 45,000 at the start of the week. The value of the pioneering cryptocurrency touched the USD 38,000 mark over the weekend.
In the early hours of the weekend, the price of Bitcoin fell below USD 40,000. Rising tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border and continuing inflation fears contributed to the further decline.
The drops occurred when the United States reported that Russia had wanted to invade Ukraine. Investors braced for the first of several interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. For that reason, momentum signals remain negative, indicating continued selling pressure.
If the value of BTC breaks out of the range between USD 28,000 and USD 30,000, there could be a further drop. That would be similar to the 80% peak-to-trough drop during the 2018 bearish market.
Analysis of the Bitcoin Market as a Whole
Bitcoin hash rates could fall due to the open conflict between Russia and Ukraine. David Duong, head of research at Coinbase, believes that could exacerbate the knee-jerk reaction by the weakest market for high-risk assets.
Most of the technical data is bearish for the cryptocurrency, a scenario in which the whales decided to take a step back. For that reason, there is a decrease in activity and withdrawal of liquidity from the market.
This month, BTC trading volumes on leading spot exchanges remain low compared to previous peaks. Therefore, the rest of February could be critical for the pioneering cryptocurrency, and the Bitcoin whales could act a bit more cautiously.
By Alexander Salazar
