New start to a new year
Though the late November to early January Bitcoin dip left countless in panic, the third-largest Bitcoin whale has been taking action. This unnamed HODLer decided to celebrate the new year in a rather extravagant way by making multi-million-dollar BTC purchases one after another.
This purchasing spree first began on January 4th with a purchase of 456 BTC, likely commemorating the thirteenth anniversary of Bitcoin. This amount would be multiplied six-fold over the following weeks. Join us as we dive in-depth into this purchasing spree, along with how other whales are responding.
Market downturn turned golden opportunity
For context, the previous 456 BTC purchase was made amidst one of the longest continuous declines for Bitcoin since 2018. But what makes this especially noteworthy is that it doesn’t end there. According to BitInfoCharts, the whale purchased 372 BTC the next day, followed by 179 the day after, then 867, 374, and so on, culminating in a whopping 2878 BTC.
Source: BitInfoCharts
The whale in question has been active since early 2019, and despite sending out 80,000 BTC and receiving more than 200,000 BTC, their identity remains a secret. What isn’t secret though, is their wallet balance, which sits at 123,261 BTC, or $7.412 billion AUD, rivalling the 124,391 BTC holdings of Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy company.
Very possibly because of the market downturn, other whales have emerged, undoubtedly eager to add to their positions. This includes a Binance whale wallet that purchased a staggering 43,000 BTC. Another notable case consists of two accounts holding 321 and 1299 BTC, respectively, who have returned after being inactive for over eight years.
Will Clemente (reputable analyst) remarks that the Bitcoin market is currently far more driven by whales versus this same time last year. This is directly in line with his past tweets regarding whale purchasing habits and is further hammered home by a tweet from Justin Sun (founder of Tron) encouraging followers to buy during the dip: “Now is the best time to build and buy! Let’s BTFD! I am going to buy 100 #BTC! @nayibbukele.”
Whales buy tend to buy when BTC price is cheap and then distribute to retail as the market gains momentum.
Whales have begun accumulating again since late July, after selling since February. pic.twitter.com/fXVKYBr7fl
— Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) September 22, 2021
Bitcoin sees recovery after record decline
As mentioned earlier, Bitcoin recently saw its most prolonged decline in years. After falling below $56,000 AUD, Bitcoin has finally made a comeback in the last few days, now hovering at around $60,000 AUD. This is a good start in mitigating the psychological pressure that the sub-$56K price had presented for Bitcoin traders.
However, opinions are mixed on whether Bitcoin can continue its recovery through 2022. Some, like Carol Alexander (Professor of Finance at Sussex University), believes that bitcoin will drop to $13,000 AUD – while others like Bluntz (cryptocurrency analyst), Credible Crypto (crypto & stock investor) and even Goldman Sachs predicts that bitcoin will reach $137,000 AUD by the year’s end.
i think #btc bottoms anywhere between now and 37.5k and gives us a similar structure to what we saw in 2019 just on a larger timescale, with a run to 100k still on the table for 2022 imo. pic.twitter.com/64WniL0bG1
— Bluntz (@SmartContracter) January 7, 2022
A reasonable middle ground comes from Guido Buehler (the CEO of Swiss Bank SEBA), who has this to say:
“Our internal valuation models indicate a price right now between $50,000 and $75,000 ($70,000 -$100,000 AUD). I’m quite confident we’re going to see that level. The question is always timing,” Buehler goes on to state institutional money as the primary propeller.
SEBA’s estimates essentially equate to a return to Bitcoin’s heights from November 2011, and then some. Their valuation may hold more water depending on if the SEC approves of the first Bitcoin Spot ETF later in March, given that it will be a significant and much-appreciated institutional on-ramp. One thing’s clear, and that’s the fact that whatever direction Bitcoin goes, whales are going to be pretty comfortable either way.