Whale transactions have recently declined significantly amid widespread market struggles and broader economic concerns. This reduction in whale transactions is particularly noticeable with major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, Santiment believes this reduced activity doesn’t call for concern as it isn’t necessarily a bearish signal.
The Slight Decline In Whales Activity
Analytical platform Santiment recently noticed a significant decline in large whale transactions. According to the data, Bitcoin whales made about 115,000 big trades from March 13 to 19. However, by August, this number had dropped to only 60,000.
Surprisingly, the situation is even more noticeable with Ethereum, which saw a more significant drop in large transactions. Santiment data revealed that Ethereum recorded about 115,000 transactions in mid-March, but these transactions dropped to 31,800 by the end of August.
🐳 The decline in overall whale activity across most crypto assets has become more and more noticeable. Peak 2024 $100K+ transaction weeks for BTC & ETH compared to recently:
Bitcoin:
March 13-19: 115.1K Whale Transactions
August 21-27: 60.2K Whale TransactionsEthereum:
March… pic.twitter.com/kBseamXiCT— Santiment (@santimentfeed) September 3, 2024
“Whales often become more active during periods of high volatility. The current decrease in activity doesn’t necessarily mean they’re selling off,” says Santiment.
This suggests that now that the market is calmer (not too volatile), these whales are not actively participating. But they’re still buying, just more slowly.
Other Coins Follow Similar Trend
Other popular coins like XRP, Toncoin, and Cardano are noticing similar trends to Bitcoin and Ethereum. For instance, XRP had increased whale activity earlier this year. By September, its large transactions have settled to a little above 1,000.
Toncoin and Cardano are following the same pattern, with fewer large trades happening recently. However, this low activity doesn’t mean big investors have left the scene. These whales are still out there, watching and waiting for the right opportunity to make their move.
Large Bitcoin Purchase Spotted Amid Market Slowdown
Although whale activity is down, some large investors are still making moves. Ali Martinez, a seasoned market analyst, spotted something interesting.
There was a spike in the #Bitcoin Taker Buy/Sell Ratio on @HTX_Global! This indicates a surge in aggressive buying — a sign of upward momentum ahead! pic.twitter.com/bqLruUjk4q
— Ali (@ali_charts) September 2, 2024
According to his recent X post, Martinez discovered that the “Taker Buy/Sell” on the HTX exchange had increased. This ratio measures how much people buy versus how much they sell.
He pointed out that the rising Taker Buy/Sell means more buying than selling. This fits with other recent reports that mention these large investors have been purchasing a lot of Bitcoin.
For instance, Lookonchain data shows one whale just bought 8,559 Bitcoins worth about $493 million on Binance.
The whale bought 1,000 $BTC($57.41M) again 30 mins ago and currently holds 8,559 $BTC($493.18M).https://t.co/aBQQ0unbCQ pic.twitter.com/miQ5wg1k0q
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 2, 2024
Further, Ethereum whales are busy, too. Notably, two big players bought 7,767 Ethereum coins worth about $19 million in one day.
2 whales withdrew stablecoins from #Aave to buy 7,767 $ETH($19.22M).
0x761d bought 3,588 $ETH($8.8M) at $2,455 10 hours ago. https://t.co/diJRYXF4by
0x0121 bought 4,180 $ETH($10.42M) at $2,492 6 hours ago. https://t.co/0g0W19cUIc pic.twitter.com/BR1gzDFKZo
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 2, 2024
In a different X post on August 30, Martinez also noticed another significant movement of assets. According to the post, about 40,000 BTC tokens were moved from exchanges in just two days. Such an occurrence often means big investors are buying and storing their coins privately.
So, the recent observation suggests crypto whales might be moving slower, but they are still in the game, buying when prices dip and holding onto their coins. This could be a good sign for crypto’s future.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not constitute financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research and determine their own risk tolerance before making any financial decisions. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, high-risk asset class.
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