Bitcoin (BTC) analysts are eyeing short-term volatility as whales begin unprecedented behavior.
Fresh data shows that whales have not only been highly active on the market — they’ve been moving record amounts of BTC.
Whale activity beats Bitcoin all-time highs
Despite BTC price action staying in a narrow, uninspiring range of around $40,000, large-volume Bitcoin investors are anything but calm.
In recent weeks, these whales have shifted more coins around the network than ever before — even more than during all-time BTC/USD highs of $60,000 and above.
Transactions involving $10 million and over recently hit more than $10 billion.
Whales have been moving record amount of #Bitcoin last two weeks.
— Lex Moskovski (@mskvsk) September 28, 2021
Total transfer volume of $10M+ transactions keeps staying at ATH lately.
It's even higher than when the price was at $55-60k. pic.twitter.com/FXvcCPPl57
Further analysis of their actions shows that different classes of whales have exhibited different reactions to recent price events.
“Smaller” whales have been selling, while the largest-volume investors have conversely added to their positions, data from on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators revealed this week.
“Whales sold BTC, mega whales bought and purple whales followed with another buy order,” researchers commented alongside a chart of BTC/USD buy and sell levels.
“If you are trying to understand these whale games, look to the thin liquidity they are trying to play to the upside.”
That relative lack of resistance between current spot price levels of $42,000 and $46,500 has played out by BTC/USD repeatedly rejecting above $44,000.
Expect “fast and volatile” Bitcoin below $40,000
Meanwhile, further whale data warns that price volatility may be inbound.
Related: Bearish Bitcoin fractal with 78% success rate flashes as BTC drops below $43.5K
The “exchange whale ratio,” which tracks the size of the top 10 exchange inflows relative to the rest, is approaching levels that have sparked unsettled price action in the past.
“So normally, we can consider this as a short term selling however since we are in the crucial areas, we need to make sure price stays above 40K,” on-chain analyst CryptoQuant commented as part of an update on Sept. 28.
“Price action below 40K could be fast and volatile.”
As Cointelegraph reported, expectations are that $36,000 should form a definitive floor in the event that BTC/USD loses $40,000 support.