The reduction in the number of transactions per week does not mean that the whales are inactive. They prefer to hold their tokens until the bullish trend returns, but other forces also affect the price.
Bitcoin whales started 2022 in a particular way, moving 91,365 BTC through 69 transactions. Below are the details about how that has influenced the value of the pioneering cryptocurrency.
There must always be a context to understand the behavior of the whales and the market as a whole. The following is only a micro approach to one of the factors that can influence the performance of BTC.
The Activity of the Bitcoin Whales and How they Start 2022
The 69 operations the Bitcoin whales made this week are relatively few, considering that 100 per week was usually the minimum. However, that small figure does not mean that the whales remain inactive.
The predominant trend was the transfer between unknown wallets but only regarding BTC transferred. The tendency of finding repeated transfers of 10,157 BTC continues but less than in the previous weekly report. The whales moved 30,471 BTC, equivalent to 33.35% of the weekly total.
The second highest trend was accumulation, as 26,640 BTC went from exchanges to unknown wallets during the last week. That represents 29.16% of the weekly total.
In third place, the whales introduced liquidity to the market by moving 23,366 BTC from unknown wallets to exchanges. That represents 25.57% of the weekly total, 3.59% weaker than accumulation.
In addition, there were also transfers between exchanges, which barely added 10,888 BTC, equivalent to 11.91%, during the week. That outlook shows the way Bitcoin whales start January, but there is more into which to delve.
Understanding the Performance of Bitcoin Until Now
Bitcoin is currently trading at around USD 41,939 and has accumulated a 0.40% loss in the last 24 hours, according to CoinDesk. That represents a continuation of the downward trend since the beginning of this year and the last days of 2021. That has been the longest losing streak of Bitcoin since 2018.
The Bitcoin whales seem to respond to the market instability, preferring to hold their tokens until the return of the bullish trend. Removing supply from the market could boost the price, but the whales are not the only force affecting it this week.
Analysts agree that January is usually a seasonally weak month for BTC, but its price has dropped by 11% so far this year. Some bulls bet that the market is at the peak of another bullish run. However, the market seems to have little short-term price support until it drops to USD 39,570. In September 2021, the value of the cryptocurrency bottomed out at about that level.
The drop in the mining hash rate due to the current situation in Kazakhstan has affected the price of Bitcoin. Compared to the relevance of that factor, the whales seem to take a back seat for the moment.
By Alexander Salazar
