Large bitcoin (BTC) holders, commonly known as whales, are once again buying more of the asset after a quiet period in early January and a bout of profit-taking, CryptoQuant data shows.
The monthly percentage growth of bitcoin holdings by large investors accelerated from -0.25% on January 14 to +2% on January 17, the highest monthly rate since mid-December.
Such growth comes on the back of Donald Trump’s US presidency, where traders expect him to introduce pro-crypto policies and build a strategic bitcoin reserve, both events that could fuel institutional capital. in the asset in the near term. Large bitcoin holders are a major driver of BTC demand and price. Notable recent buyers include the development of Bitcoin company MicroStrategy and energy management systems company COLOR.
Consequently, selling pressure for Bitcoin has eased significantly after realizing daily profits as high as $10 billion as the asset approached $100,000 in December. Long-term holders of bitcoin, seen as “smart money,” have sold more than 1 million BTC since September, and the behavior appears to have slowed, as a The CoinDesk review mentioned on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, unrealized profit margins for traders are close to zero. In crypto terms, it often acts like a price floor during a bull market, suggesting that we are at a stable point before the next move.
However, retail spot demand for bitcoin appears to be cooling, according to CryptoQuant.
“Bitcoin’s apparent demand continues to expand territory (green area on the chart on the left). However, the rate of expansion has decreased from 279K Bitcoin in early December 2024 to 75K Bitcoin today,” the firm said in its Friday report.
Apparent demand is an on-chain metric used to measure the balance between Bitcoin’s production (newly produced coins through mining) and changes in its inventory (coins that have been inactive for over a year ).
“Demand growth should accelerate again for prices to rally significantly,” it added.
