The cryptocurrency market has been witnessing significant activity from Bitcoin (BTC) whales, with transaction volumes hitting new highs. Not only Bitcoin but also Ethereum (ETH) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) whales have been making their presence felt with substantial movements in the market. Cumulative transactions by market investors have recently reached new peaks, indicating increased whale activity.
Data from the leading crypto analysis platform IntoTheBlock shows that Bitcoin whale transaction volume has been on the rise, with a 14.32% increase to $14.32 billion at the time of writing. This metric represents the dollar value of Bitcoin transactions exceeding approximately $100,000 over the last 24 hours.
According to IntoTheBlock, the number of transactions on December 17 stood at 11,870, which surged to over 21,620 by the time of writing. The corresponding transaction volume by BTC whales also increased from approximately 407,730 BTC or $17,043,158,850.3 to 804,470 BTC or $35,334,052,010.5 by December 22.
Market movements suggest that price increases during such periods are often driven by whale activities. This highlights the significance of Bitcoin’s network hosting some of the largest players in the game, the whales. While the direct connection between whales and market dynamics is not always clear, the whale transactions coincide with growing rumors about the potential entry of Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) into the market.
As expectations for the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January rise, many whales in the market are positioning themselves to acquire more BTC before major corporate firms initiate their ventures. Amidst these developments, Bitcoin’s price saw a modest increase of 0.38%, trading at $43,789.40 at the time of writing.
While Bitcoin whales lead in transaction volume, Ethereum and Shiba Inu whales have also shown significant activity over the past week. Ethereum whale transaction volume increased by 51.01%, reaching $6.79 billion, while Shiba Inu whale volume experienced an astonishing rise of 186.4%, reaching $73.28 million. The latter is considered more standard due to the continuous movement of large quantities of the memecoin, which also affects the token burn rate. At the time of writing, Ethereum traded at $2,289 with a 0.17% decrease, while Shiba Inu fell by 0.45% to $0.00001095.