Bitcoin whales bought $3.3 billion BTC in three days

TL:DR Breakdown:

• Bitcoin whales accumulated more than $3.3 billion BTC within three days after the price crashed below $45,000.
• The third-largest BTC address bought more than 2,000 BTC on Monday.
• Whales may have caused the drop, but they are also likely behind the mild increase in BTC. 

Three days ago, the market valuation of Bitcoin tanked below the $1 trillion mark following the heavy and unexpected crash in the price from as high as $56,944 to about $43,500 – a more than 23 percent decrease. 

Bitcoin whales added 67k BTC 

Consequently, many traders were forced out of the market via liquidation while the interest and demand for Bitcoin and other cryptos diminished as people became extremely fearful, except for deep-pocketed players. Bitcoin whales played ahead of most market participants to accumulate a huge amount of BTC while at the dip, according to Santiment.

The on-chain data provider reported Tuesday that Bitcoin addresses holding between 100 to 10,000 BTC accumulated up to 67k BTC just three days after the market crashed. These coins are worth over $3.3 billion, with Bitcoin currently trading at $51,411. 

As seen on-chain, the third-largest Bitcoin whale made a part of the purchase. On Monday, the whale increased its holding by 2,702 BTC when the price was around $50.6k, making up a total cost of over $136 million. 

Did whales just play us?

Regardless of how many retail and long-term holders are currently in the Bitcoin market, traders are always mindful of whale activities, as they can still influence price to the upside or downside. As Santiment noted, Bitcoin fell further to the $43.5k range after Bitcoin whales began dumping. 

So it’s possible that they might have propelled the crash through their sell-offs. Now they are back and have also accumulated more BTC at a cheaper rate. It remains to be seen how much their comeback can help drive more demand and price to the upside.