Key Points
- Whale activity on Coinbase is significantly influencing Bitcoin’s price action, says CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest single-day outflow since launch, indicating increased selling pressure from institutional investors.
Whale activity on Coinbase is playing a significant role in the recent price action of Bitcoin, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant.
Coinbase’s Spot Volume Dominance
On February 26, Ju highlighted that Coinbase’s spot volume dominance had risen above 30% in the previous week. This metric refers to the proportion of total Bitcoin spot trading volume happening on the exchange.
Simultaneously, the Coinbase BTC premium, which measures the price disparity between Bitcoin on Coinbase and other exchanges like Binance, stayed negative. This implies that U.S. investors, especially institutional ones, are driving both the bull market and the recent correction.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Outflow
On February 25, spot Bitcoin ETFs noted their largest single-day outflow since their inception, with $937.78 million exiting, according to SoSoValue data. This number greatly surpassed the previous record of $680 million in outflows on December 19, 2024, indicating increased selling pressure from institutional investors.
A report from 10x Research on February 25 indicated that only 44% of U.S. Bitcoin ETF inflows are intended for long-term holding. The remaining are likely tied to arbitrage strategies, suggesting that the actual long-term demand for Bitcoin in multi-asset portfolios might be significantly smaller than what media narratives propose.
The current market pullback is largely attributed to macroeconomic factors leading to market uncertainty. The proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports by former U.S. President Donald Trump, set to take effect in March, are stoking fears of rising inflation.
Despite the correction, CryptoQuant’s CEO remains long-term bullish. In a February 19 post, he maintained that Bitcoin’s bull cycle is still intact. He mentioned that previous cycles have experienced price drops of up to 30% from all-time highs without indicating a bear market.