Bitcoin retail cohort keeps whales on their toes
Journalist
Posted:
- Bitcoin addresses under 100 BTC have increased, while whale supply reached a four-month low.
- The younger age bands are prepared to pay higher prices for BTC.
Bitcoin [BTC] addresses who hold under 100 BTC and whales who hold as much as 100 to 100,000 BTC have decided to take different paths. This was according to a new revelation by Santiment.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-2024
According to the on-chain analytic data provider, the non-whale wallets climbed to a new All-Time High (ATH).
The increase then helped the cohort attain 41.1% of the total Bitcoin supply. But on the opposing end, the whales’ supply dropped to 55.5%— the lowest it had reached since May.
🐳📉 #Bitcoin‘s non-whale wallets, defined as addresses with under 100 $BTC, have climbed to new #AllTimeHigh levels, now owning 41.1% of the available supply. Meanwhile, whales with 100 to 100K, own 55.5% of the supply, their lowest amount held since May. https://t.co/JktSd6yM6Z pic.twitter.com/f2cwYZ3MTX
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) September 21, 2023
Trust rises among small investors
A simple explanation of the data shared above is that the retail group has grown in confidence about the long-term performance of BTC. For many, the whales’ drop could mean that these large investors have lost their enthusiasm for the king coin’s price action.
However, that may not be the situation. Recently, AMBCrypto reported that Bitcoin whales, like their Ethereum [ETH] counterparts, seem to be waiting for the right call (or opportunity) before accumulating in droves. Hence, this could be the reason whale addresses seem to be decreasing.
Regardless of the disparity in thought, Bitcoin’s weighted sentiment fell into the negative region. At press time, the metric was -0.16.
As an improved version of the sentiment balance, the weighted sentiment considers the unique social volume while measuring the positive or negative critique around an asset.
Positive values of the metric imply positive commentary. However, since Bitcoin’s weighted sentiment was negative, it means the average comment about the coin did not relate to optimism.
Source: Santiment
As volume drops, excitement jumps
One reason the sentiment has changed from its initial positive value could be linked to the volume. From the data above, Bitcoin’s volume had dropped to 13.91 billion. This was just two days after it crossed 15 billion.
BTC’s price has also dropped from its initial hike to $27,000. Typically, a significant increase in volume alongside an increase in price could be a credible sign of a continuous bullish trend. But since it was the opposite, it means BTC has the tendency to decrease again.
Meanwhile, the realized market cap HODL waves increased to 1.55. The metric is an alternative to circulation HODL waves. To get a value for this metric, the cost basis of Bitcoin is considered, and it’s divided by different age brackets holding BTC at a given period.
Source: Santiment
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Peaks in younger bands suggest that the market is prepared to pay higher prices for Bitcoin. Conversely, when the older age bands increase, it means that Bitcoin is no longer appealing to the average investor.
Therefore, the jump in the HODL waves means that a large part of the market is excited about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects.
