Key Points
- Institutional demand for Bitcoin has increased since the start of the year, says CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju.
- Whale addresses hold nearly 40% of the Bitcoin supply, with the latest addition being Japanese firm Metaplanet.
Bitcoin’s institutional demand has been on a rise since the beginning of this year, as per CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju.
According to a post by Young Ju, U.S.-based spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds saw a net inflow of approximately 278,000 BTC since their inception in January. Interestingly, 80% of these inflows are attributed to retail investors.
Whale Influence
However, the scenario is different when it comes to whale addresses. These addresses, which hold at least 1,000 BTC and exclude crypto exchanges and mining pools, observed an inflow of 670,000 BTC over the previous year.
CryptoQuant’s CEO stated that the institutional demand in self-custodial wallets is double that of retail.
Data provided by IntoTheBlock shows that about 40% of the Bitcoin supply is held by whale addresses with at least 1,000 BTC.
The most recent addition to this list is Metaplanet, a Japanese investment firm. The firm reportedly increased its Bitcoin holdings by 156.7 BTC on October 28, bringing the total to 1,018 BTC, valued over $70 million at the time.
Bitcoin’s price increased by 4% in the last 24 hours, trading at $70,950. The cryptocurrency briefly reached a five-month high of $71,475. Currently, BTC is just 3.5% short of its all-time high of $73,750.
Bitcoin’s Market Performance
The leading cryptocurrency’s daily trading volume soared by 123%, hitting $47 billion. Following the recent price increase, Bitcoin’s market cap crossed the $1.4 trillion mark.
According to IntoTheBlock, over 99% of Bitcoin holders are currently profitable. This could suggest short-term profit-taking, possibly indicating a potential price correction.