Bitcoin’s price movement over the past week has revealed a number of highs and lows, from the beginning of the week at a new all-time high of US$73,780 until a 12% drop in the following days, reaching below US$65,000. Crypto data analysts have detected large amounts of Bitcoin being withdrawn from major exchanges during the period of uncertainty, indicating that large investors anticipate further price appreciation.
According to a social media post by crypto analyst Ali Martinez, the total BTC balance on cryptocurrency exchanges fell by more than 21,400 last week, with the creation of 13 new whales, each holding more than 1,000 BTC.
Withdrawal of BTC from exchanges
Bitcoin surpassed $73,700 last week to record a new all-time high, but has struggled to gain a foothold above the price level. Interestingly, it appears that the new all-time high has triggered a wave of profit-taking by some investors. However, network and exchange data indicate that Bitcoin is still experiencing bullish sentiment from some investors, especially large investors.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted this bullish accumulation pattern in a post on his social media platform X. According to a Glassnode chart shared by the analyst, the total amount of BTC on exchanges has been in free fall since mid-January. Notably, BTC’s total balance saw a brief spike in the first few days of March before resuming freefall on March 5. Last week alone, 21,401 BTC were withdrawn from cryptocurrency exchanges.
While the #Bitcoin the bull run pauses momentarily, it is noteworthy that 21,401 #BTC were delisted from cryptocurrency exchanges last week, and the network welcomed 13 new whales, each with over 1,000 $BTC. pic.twitter.com/oSXaKBR4Z1
-Ali (@ali_charts) March 16, 2024
Similarly, crypto analytics platform IntoTheBlock observed this outflow pattern throughout the week. According to ITB, BTC withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchanges reached their highest point this year on March 15. Interestingly, $750 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn on this day, the highest amount since May 2023.
More than US$750 million $BTC was delisted from exchanges yesterday, the largest since May 2023. The majority of these withdrawals come from Bitfinex ($524 million) and Kraken ($130 million) pic.twitter.com/8d3eIJROhv
-IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) March 15, 2024
What does this mean for Bitcoin?
The Bitcoin ecosystem has witnessed a huge movement of money since the beginning of the year, leading to a sharp increase in the cryptocurrency’s prices. However, this recovery has since slowed, triggering a price correction, with market sentiment achieving the most negative feeling towards BTC since December 2023. Bitcoin is currently trading at $68,201, down 3.44% over the last seven days.
After such a strong increase in price, it is normal for momentum to slow down as the market consolidates and decides the next move. Although the dynamism has slowed, the general trend towards Bitcoin remains bullish.
Judging by the massive amounts of Bitcoin recently withdrawn from exchanges, it appears that whales are gearing up for a continued recovery. Bitcoin is now showing signs from an increase, and has now risen 5% in the last 24 hours.
BTC price crashes as trading week opens | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Business Today, chart from Tradingview.com
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