30s Summary
Small Bitcoin investors, often referred to as “shrimps”, have consistently been buying more bitcoins over the past two months. Meanwhile, major holders, known as “whales”, continue their two-month trend of selling off Bitcoins. Despite Bitcoin nearing $90,000 before retreating to $87,400, these trends persist. Notably, this counters the typical assumption that whale activity primarily drives the market, suggesting instead that retail investors are influencing the price rally significantly.
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People who hold less than one Bitcoin have been buying up more for the past two months. On the flip side, Bitcoin ‘whales,’ who hold over 10,000 BTC, are continuing their two-month trend of selling off coins. Long-time Bitcoin holders appear unruffled by the rally and are hanging onto their Bitcoin hoping for higher prices.
Bitcoin’s blockchain data shows these smaller Bitcoin investors, usually referred to as “shrimps,” are consistently increasing their Bitcoin holdings. This is happening while the big Bitcoin holders or ‘whales’ continue their “sell on rise” strategy.
Just to bring you up to speed – Bitcoin was getting close to the $90,000 mark on early Tuesday but has since retreated and is now trading around $87,400. That’s still a 27% hike in just one week based on CoinDesk’s data.
This recent buying streak seems to have been mainly driven by the Nasdaq-listed Coinbase exchange which is often seen as a measure for US institutional activity. However, closer examination of the data suggests that these “shrimps” are actively increasing their Bitcoin stash, pushing the price rally even further.
When looking at Bitcoin ownership based on number of coins held– from “shrimps” who own less than one BTC to “humpback whales” who own more than 10,000 – it appears that all groups other than the whales have been buying up Bitcoin over the past two months.
In fact, the data challenges the usual assumption that whales move the market while retail investors typically just go along for the ride. Interestingly, it’s the