The impact of bitcoin whales and their activities has always been felt in the general market. This goes from buying to selling, and exactly the way they move their coins. Again, these whales still rule the market and their activity could signal a bottom signal.
Santiment Says Bitcoin Whales Are Selling
In a recent community post on the Santiment website, whale activity is thoroughly analyzed. A look at the balances of major holders shows this time that they are still selling. These whales with between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have reduced their holdings from nearly 8 million BTC in December 2021 to less than 7 million BTC in December 2022.
Even in the past few months, they have reduced their balance by over 200,000 BTC, showing that they are still selling. Given this selling trend among these major holders, the report predicts that the market will see “sideways or even lower prices for BTC” over the next 6-12 months.
BTC whales are still selling | Source: Santiment
If these sales from major investors flow into 2023, the digital asset is likely to start the year with prices below $16,000. It is also important to note that the analysis in the Whale Addresses report shows that the bottom of the market may not have been reached yet.
BTC bottom is still not in
Now it is important to keep an eye on whale activity, as accumulation by them can lead to a rally, and vice versa. One of the ways to try to locate the bitcoin bottoms is with whale activity. At the bottom of a bear market, or at least close to it, whaling activities have historically declined.
However, the Santiment report notes that the average number of 7-day trades is currently still hovering around 10,000. Compared to the previous bear markets, when the market had bottomed out, the number of whale trades had dropped to 1,200 and 2,500.
“This may mean we have to wait for the average to drop further before concluding that even the big players are giving up,” the report reads.
BTC price succumbs to selling pressure | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Another metric the report refers to is volume differences. These usually show where the whales are accumulating and unfortunately, both of the volume differences identified in the report are well below bitcoin’s current trading price. The two main gaps identified were the price levels of $14,600 and $12,200, which could be a potential accumulation level for whales.
Essentially, the advice was to hold off buying until whale trades get lower, and wait for the current selling pressure to ease. “To sum up, BTC whale activity and the presence of volume discrepancies of USD 14,600 and USD 12,200 may be worth watching,” Santiment said.
Featured image from Crypto Insiders chart from TradingView.com