Bitcoin (BTC) is presently down 70% from its all-time high, reached in November 2021, as the bear market persists. Amid these unfavourable conditions, the BTC distribution rates of whales and miners appear to have reached their maximum levels. This technique has a history of increasing the selling pressure on market investors.
BTC whale migrations peak
According to an official CryptoQuant review of Bitcoin’s on-chain measurements, whale activity is, at best, unpromising. Before the drop below the $20k support, BTC whale movements got more active, according to the study. August witnessed the reawakening of certain dormant BTC currencies. This pattern extended through September.
CryptoQuant initiated research on transactions involving 1,000 to 10,000 BTC, which had been idle for over seven years, on August 11. The investigation indicated that the funds may belong to early users of BTC, or they may have been transferred from the now-defunct Cryptsy exchange prior to the breach.
Regardless of the circumstance, the coins made their way to exchanges for prospective sale. Some, however, were dispatched to unidentified addresses, which may have belonged to mixologists. This whale movement represents a small portion of the BTC reaching exchanges since the BTC Exchange Reserve looks to be seeing an increase.
In addition, on September 7, CryptoQuant detected an additional group of whale movements. Within 10 days, over 15,000 bitcoins were transferred, with some being routed to Kraken. These coins were inactive for more than eight years. These whale movements placed further selling pressure and aggravated the bearish mood in the present bear market.
Miners are used to selling off their properties.
In addition, miners’ involvement in selloffs has contributed to this pressure. This week, the Beijing-based mining pool Poolin had a large withdrawal of almost 5,000 BTC. Poolin had to halt withdrawals four days ago, citing liquidity difficulties. According to the notice, withdrawal requests had increased significantly.
Recent miner sell-offs can be partially related to the low hash rate. As BTC falls to unexpected lows, miners are earning less money, and capitulation looks to be an attempt to hedge against further price drops. Unfortunately, the ripple effect of these sales raises the selling pressure on further whales and miners.
Since the end of August, the BTC Exchange Reserve measure has experienced a significant increase. Since reaching a four-year low in June, BTC reserves on exchanges have steadily risen, signalling a rise in selling pressure.
BTCUSD Chart. Source: TradingView
Despite these unfavourable figuress, Bitcoin has lately reclaimed psychological support above $20,000. At the time of writing, the asset is trading at $19,669, down 9% in the last week.