The crypto whales collect Bitcoin

Some crypto whales are hoarding Bitcoin by taking advantage of its price drop.

This is what is evident from the comparison between BTC prices on Bitfinex and those on other crypto exchanges.

The “price” on Bitfinex

As of January 16, BTC prices on Bitfinex were often higher compared to those on other exchanges.

Referring to the price of Bitcoin in US dollars on Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, it is discovered that the daily price spikes were also $200 higher, as of January 16.

According to the interpretations of some analysts, this $200 “premium” in relation to the price of Bitcoin on Bitfinex could be due to whale buying.

Bitfinex is not widely used by small retail investors, but it is used by Tether and other crypto whales. In fact, Bitfinex is part of the same group as Tether, namely iFinex.

Instead, Coinbase is probably the US crypto exchange with the most retail users. In fact, while the daily trading volume on Coinbase is just under $3 billion, on Bitfinex it is less than $400 million, because the number of users on this exchange is much lower compared to the US exchange.

However, as of the weekend, there was a small uptick in trading volumes on Bitfinex, likely due to whale activity. On Coinbase, on the other hand, trading volumes fell significantly over the weekend.

Whales collect the queen of crypto $BTC

It is possible to assume that these two dynamics, namely the premium on Bitfinex and the increase in volumes during the weekend, represent a new activity of whale accumulation.

Already in the course of 2023, and especially before the end-of-year mini-bull run, fairly clear signs of hoarding by whales emerged.

It should be emphasized that from May, and into early December, BTC deposited on exchanges continued to decline, clearly indicating that selling pressure may have subsided significantly.

If on the one hand investors and retail speculators ignored such a dynamic, on the other hand whales must have interpreted it as a bullish signal, and in fact they accumulated some Bitcoin.

With the end of the mini-bull run, at the beginning of 2024, it is possible that some whales sold to earn their profits, since the price of BTC in 2023 has never exceeded $40,000.

The dynamics that have taken place on Bitfinex since the weekend suggest that another accumulation period may have begun, now that prices have fallen below $40,000.

Actually, it is still too early to say for sure, but it is not at all possible to rule out that with Bitcoin below $40,000, some whales have already decided to start accumulating again, especially if they sold at more than $43,000 to take their profits to be earned from 2023. .

The trend is reversing

Yesterday, indeed, something happened which can also be interpreted as an important signal.

Many expected a return to $40,000 due to the “sell the news” activity by those who bought BTC in 2023 at much lower prices. Many of these also expected that the price could have fallen to $38,000 if they could not hold $40,000.

Below $38,000, however, the number of analysts predicting further significant declines decreases significantly.

It is possible to imagine that some whales find it difficult to believe in a stable return of the BTC price below $38,000 at this moment. For this reason, they may have started buying, effectively creating enough buying pressure to prevent the price from falling just below that threshold.

Furthermore, there is another dynamic related to the movements of the Chinese stock exchanges.

Taking into account the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong stock exchange, it is discovered that until January 1, the day of the launch of the new ETFs on the stock exchange, there was no correlation with the price of Bitcoin, but after the drop at 12 January there seems to be some correlation again. This correlation became apparent from January 18.

In particular, on Monday, the Hong Kong stock exchange lost a lot, and it was also the day when the price of Bitcoin fell below $40,000 for the first time in 2024. Yesterday, the Hong Kong stock market had a slight recovery, and the decline in the price of Bitcoin finally stopped.

Today, the Hong Kong stock exchange is recovering rather well, to the point of returning to the levels of January 16. Even Bitcoin is recovering a bit today.

While all of this is not enough to determine the beginning of a trend change, it could still be a sign of a possible end to the decline of the past few days.

If the above whales were right, we could expect a Bitcoin price that may not drop significantly below $38,000 these days.