Bitcoin whale transactions surged to their highest levels since April during a significant market downturn on August 5 and 6, as revealed by the blockchain data analysis platform Santiment. Wallets holding between 10 and 1,000 Bitcoin accumulated rapidly amid the price drop, causing the leading cryptocurrency to fall below $50,000.
Record-Breaking Transactions
Santiment’s data indicated that during the price collapse, there were 28,319 Bitcoin transactions exceeding $100,000 and 5,738 transactions exceeding $1 million. Bitcoin lost approximately 18% of its value on August 5, dropping from over $60,000 to below $50,000 in less than 24 hours before modestly recovering to $57,000.
Experts noted that Bitcoin whales accumulated assets worth around $23 billion over the past 30 days, with peak activity during the crash. According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, over 400,000 Bitcoin have been transferred to long-term holder addresses since July, highlighting an accumulation trend.
How Did Older Whales React?
Interestingly, whales that have held Bitcoin for more than three years sold their assets to newer whales between March and June, but there has been no significant selling pressure from these long-term holders recently.
In the days leading up to the crash, specifically on August 3, experts reported that Bitcoin was being withdrawn from exchanges at the highest rate in nine years. Bitcoin whales with at least 1,000 tokens made the most significant withdrawals from exchanges since 2015, signaling a strategic move.
Key Takeaways
– Bitcoin whale transactions hit record highs during the market crash on August 5 and 6.
– Whales accumulated approximately $23 billion in Bitcoin over the past 30 days.
– Over 400,000 Bitcoin moved to long-term holder addresses since July.
– Significant Bitcoin withdrawals from exchanges, highest since 2015.
– US-based Bitcoin ETFs saw $554 million in outflows between August 2 and 6.
However, US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds did not share this confidence, experiencing a total outflow of $554 million between August 2 and 6, raising concerns about market sentiment.
The lack of buyers for ETFs during this downturn is worrying and casts doubt on the market’s direction, according to market research firm 10x Research.