Bitcoin wallets holding more than 1000 BTC has surpassed the number of mid-range wallet addresses holding 10-1000 BTC in terms of percent of supply held, for the first time. The data was revealed by crypto analytic firm Santiment. The data imply that the number of Bitcoin whales is growing which might seem a good sign in the short term, however, more bitcoin in the hands of fewer whales could lead to a risk of price dictation by these whales.
The data analytical firm also revealed that small mid-range bitcoin wallet addresses are actively taking profit and selling their holdings thus giving more power in the hands of larger whales.
?? #Bitcoin whales (1,000+ $BTC addresses) briefly surpassed mid-tier addresses (10-1,000 $BTC) in terms of percent of supply held for the first time in history. As mid-tiers continue taking profit, expect whales to dictate price direction more & more. ??https://t.co/F97wNRUAVG pic.twitter.com/feUHtISlYh
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 2, 2021
Santiment also revealed that most of these mid-tier bitcoin addresses have started to sell rather than shifting to the upper tier by accumulating more.
A few appear to be doing so… but SIGNIFICANTLY more are becoming low tiers, according to our data!
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 2, 2021
Bitcoin Whales Number on Rise, Will Supply hold up?
The bitcoin bull rally was initially attributed to institutional FOMO, however, the retail traders joined in towards Christmas Eve and took the price of the top cryptocurrency above $40,000, more than doubling its 2017 high. However, bitcoin seems to have lost momentum post the first week of January as the price is stuck under $33k for most of the past three weeks.
A slew of corrections ranging from 10% to 23% was observed over the past three weeks that many believed were the result of retail traders, bitcoin miners, and small whales selling their holding to take the profit. However, as the data suggest larger whales are still stacking bitcoin as their number continues to grow. This even though does not suggest that the market can be manipulated however with the majority of the circulating supply in the hands of few is an indication that few whales would have a larger impact on future price fluctuation.
Bitcoin’s market cap currently stands at just over $655 billion, thus making it more formidable against any market pump n dump games, and as the top cryptocurrency has significantly grown in terms of adoption the risk has gone down as well.
