Bitcoin (BTC) still invited significant corporate holders, which built notable wallets. At the end of July, ETFs held the biggest wallets, followed by MicroStrategy as the third-largest BTC owner.
Bitcoin (BTC) still gains support from corporate holders. MicroStrategy (MSTG) is still the owner of the third-biggest wallet at the end of July. Corporate buying and BTC reserves are seen as a way to gain support after the most recent market crash.
The two biggest corporate wallets belong to iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), one of the top ETF issuers. Grayscale’s BTC holdings are the second-biggest, with more than 241K coins. The two wallets are also the most active ones, and a shift in balances may happen at any one moment.
Small support also comes from the wallets of Tesla Inc, Block Inc and Coinbase. The market still awaits the effect of another $2B allocation to BTC from MicroStrategy. If the funding is secured, MicroStrategy may get ahead of the Grayscale wallet, with the intent to hold for the longer term. However, under current market conditions, the raising of $2B may become a challenge.
In July, all whale wallets accumulated a total of 84,000 BTC, the biggest monthly accumulation since 2014.
Miners also try to avoid outsized selling of BTC, by holding more than 2M coins for months and divesting slowly. Marathon Digital Holdings is among top owners, with 17,587 BTC as of May 2024. Total miner reserves expanded close to 2M coins.
Spot exchange reserves available for buying are also showing a net decrease. Despite the recent inflow of coins to some exchanges, reserves are still near an all-time low. Exchange balances are now down to 2.46M BTC.
Largest Corporate #Bitcoin HODLers as of 7/31/24👇 $IBIT $GBTC $MSTR $FBTC $ARKB $BITB $MARA $HODL $TSLA $COIN $HUT $BRRR $SQ $CLSK $BTC pic.twitter.com/uPaR9WxkGA
— HODL15Capital 🇺🇸 (@HODL15Capital) August 2, 2024
Bitcoin exchange inflows signal profit-taking
The recent market correction led BTC to just under $50,000, only a week after almost returning above $70,000. The correction raised questions whether whales would continue to buy. The recent market move recalls the previous correction to $53,000 in July, where whales ended up solidifying their positions.
The recent BTC wallet balance arrives at a time where more than 65% of all BTC have been held for more than a year. At the same time, top wallets reveal inflows into centralized exchanges, targeting Binance and Kraken.
Not all top wallets are considered bullish for BTC, as some holders may put pressure on the market by divesting. In the short term, BTC price action may also be responding to bots automated to sell at predetermined intervals.
Unknown whales are predominantly sellers, with 72% trying to realize profits and only 28% turning into buyers. The latest market shakedown, however, showed a flow of funds from smaller whale wallets to the biggest ones with more than 10K coins.
Signs of Bitcoin buying return through whale wallets
The recent spot price pressures on BTC include ETF selling, smart money divestments, as well as bot-driven orders. However, the recent selling coincided with spot buying from aggressive whales.
The first sign of a potential market recovery was the involvement of Mr. 100, a known wallet that also started buying around the $53,000 level. Mr. 100 bought after the shedding of BTC from the German government. The well-known wallet is not considered a corporate entity and already holds 71,440 BTC, almost rivaling the stash of Tether, Inc.
The other sign of a potential market bottom is the reappearance of orders from a Bitfinex whale. The buying mops up 450 BTC per day, equivalent to the entire daily mining reward. The new positions are leveraged longs, but the Bitfinex whale also has a spot collateral.
The recent market sell-off also caused a shift on social media. After the recent dip, BTC showed it was able to regain thousands of dollars in under an hour. Santiment showed talk of ‘buy the dip’ is accelerating on social media, though additional panic-selling may continue in the next few days.
Soon after the correction under $50,000, BTC rallied once again, expanding to $52,995.55, after briefly trading above $53,000.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva
