According to CryptoPotato, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant rally earlier this week, surging over 13% to a five-week high daily close of $71,400. This surge had a ripple effect on the rest of the crypto market. Data from IntoTheBlock indicates that a specific group of Bitcoin investors, known as 'whales', accumulated more of the asset than others during this surge.
Bitcoin addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, referred to as 'whales', were the primary accumulators of BTC as its value soared beyond $71,000. These addresses collectively added 20,000 BTC, approximately $1.4 billion at current prices, to their balances over the past week. This accumulation by whales coincides with steady inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have seen nine consecutive days of inflows exceeding $1.75 billion.
In early May, it was reported that this group of investors accumulated 15,121 BTC worth $941 million within 24 hours, increasing their collective wallet balance to its highest level in two weeks. On another occasion, data revealed that Bitcoin whales acquired 47,000 BTC worth over $2.8 billion within the 24 hours ending May 3. This surge in BTC accumulation by whales follows a lengthy period of profit-taking, where these market participants moved their assets to crypto exchanges in large numbers.
Despite the aggressive accumulation by whales, BTC has been on a decline since yesterday. Data showed that BTC was hovering around $67,400 at the time of writing, having lost 3.6% in the past 24 hours. The crypto asset dropped by roughly $2,000 in minutes as the market experienced volatility in anticipation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on eight applications for spot Ethereum ETFs. While the SEC has approved the listing of the funds, both BTC and Ether have recorded no gains as a result. However, the growing number of non-empty stablecoin wallets suggests that a significant rally may occur soon.
