Bitcoin whales continued to “buy the dip” as BTC price weakness saw a slip below $60,000.
Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant uploaded to X by contributor Axel Adler Jr. on Oct. 11 shows that whales have accumulated 1.5 million Bitcoin (BTC) over the past six months.
Bitcoin whale accumulation: “Nothing to discuss here”
Bitcoin whales are wasting no time increasing their BTC exposure — a trend in place almost constantly since March’s all-time highs.
Analyzing known whale wallets that do not belong to miners or centralized exchanges, Adler confirmed a clear strategy employed by large-volume investors.
“1.5M BTC has been accumulated by whales (with >1K BTC on balance) over the last 6 months,” he said.
“There's really nothing to discuss here.”
Bitcoin whale balance. Source: Axel Adler Jr.X
Adler acknowledged that some smaller whales — with less than 1,000 BTC — had been selling over the same period.
Zooming into the most recent price action, CryptoQuant shows that other classes of Bitcoin investors have also been selling at a loss.
In particular, Bitcoin speculators, also known as short-term holders (STHs), have repeatedly sold coins at a loss on exchanges in 2024.
As BTC/USD slid below $60,000 on Oct. 10, Adler uploaded a chart of STH profit and loss (P&L) on transactions to exchanges. He reasoned that the biggest whales are feeding on these coins. Don’t’t believe that whales accumulated 1.5M BTC and wonder where they got it from? How about taking a look at the loss-making sales on exchanges?” he wrote.
“In the last 24 hours, 24.1K BTC were sold at a loss.”
Bitcoin STH P&L. Source: Axel Adler Jr.X
STH entities, which are wallets hodling a given amount of BTC for up to 155 days, are well known for reactionary buying and selling behavior.
BTC price volatility in a given direction can result in a rapid sell-off or buy-ins by the cohort, as evidenced by their response to Bitcoin’s recent trip to $66,000.
Whale growth could precede “potential upward move” for BTC price
Still, fellow CryptoQuant contributor DarkFost said whale accumulation between $54,000 and $68,000 was “significant.”
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“New whales are entering the game and accumulating strongly, while existing whales are also increasing their positions,” he concluded in a Quicktake blog post.
“Overall, we’re seeing all whales accumulating in this price zone. Their growing balances suggest that a potential upward move could be on the horizon, either in the mid-term or long-term.”
Bitcoin whale numbers by size (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
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