Key Points
- Bitcoin whales, entities holding over 1K coins, have increased to a 3-year high, holding nearly 4 million BTC.
- Retail holding has seen a slow pace of growth, leading to speculation about a new all-time high (ATH).
Bitcoin whales, those entities holding over 1,000 coins, have seen an increase in 2024, hitting levels last seen in early 2021, just before Bitcoin’s last cycle high of $69K.
Data from Glassnode shows that as of the 23rd of October, the number of whale entities was over 1660.
Increasing Numbers of Bitcoin Whales
Andre Dragosch, Bitwise’s head of research, has posed the question of whether this increase in large Bitcoin investors could signal a new all-time high (ATH).
In 2020, the number of whales increased from 1650 to over 1760, which was followed by a new ATH for Bitcoin the following year. It remains to be seen whether this trend will repeat in 2024.
According to CryptoQuant, as of press time, the total holdings of whales stood at 3.9 million BTC, which equates to a staggering $261 billion, nearly 20% of Bitcoin’s market size.
Whales vs Retail Holders
Since mid-2023, the whale entities have added about 670K BTC. However, not all whale cohorts have been accumulating heavily.
Data from Santiment shows that those holding between 100K and 1 million BTC have been aggressively accumulating in 2024, while those with 1K to 10K BTC have reduced their exposure.
Despite the slower growth of the BTC retail stash, the overall trend has been towards a holding strategy, as seen by the surge in Bitcoin accumulation balances.
Analysts view these trends as positive catalysts for Bitcoin’s potential new ATH attempt, but this remains to be seen.