Bitcoin Whale Transactions Peak to Highest Level in a Month

This past week saw Bitcoin’s price slump to a new low of $34,700. However, the slump coincided with increased activity from large-volume investors in the market.

Whales Buying the Dip

According to Santiment, the on-chain and social metrics analysis platform, the crypto market witnessed the highest level of transactions, exceeding both $100k and $1 million, since January 24th. During that time, whale activity picked up after Bitcoin prices had similarly bottomed. In a tweet posted on February 26, Santiment indicated that in the last week, there had been more than 15K transactions of Bitcoin worth more than $100,000. In the same time period, at least 4,500 transactions with values of over $1 million were also recorded. Santiment’s analysis of clusters of large volume bids seems to suggest that whales are buying the ongoing dip. This show of renewed confidence in the market from investors with the largest Bitcoin balances could potentially push prices upwards in the coming days. Previous experience has proven that when whales become active, crypto prices more often than not make a turnaround. The last time there was this much-frenzied whale activity, Bitcoin prices jumped by nearly 15% the following week. This recent run on the market by whales is in contrast to a decreasing buying trend that started in the third week of January. Despite continuing market volatility and slumping crypto prices, analysts still believe that it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin hits the $100k mark. This recent whale activity may lend credence to that belief.

The War in Ukraine is Having an Impact on Bitcoin Prices

The turbulent digital asset market has been on a downward trend since the beginning of the year. The volatility has been caused by a variety of factors, including surging inflation, regulatory ambiguity, and the slow pace of recovery in the post-COVID job market. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday this week seems to have caused even more jitters in the market, sending Bitcoin prices tumbling down even further. The escalating geopolitical crisis is forcing investors to shed risky crypto assets in a bid to protect their portfolios from impending price drops. The war also halted the slight rally the crypto market had been enjoying for the last few weeks. In that time, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap had risen from a low of $32,327 to trade at over $45k. Bitcoin is currently trading at $39,284, with a 24-hour trading volume of over $22 billion. Its current price is a long way from its most recent all-time high of $68,000, reached in November 2021. However, it still remains nearly twice as valuable as it was just two years ago.