The cryptocurrency market has been in a particularly bad slump over the past ten days, failing to produce the expected Santa Claus rally. With the new year coming to an end in just a few days, on-chain data actually suggests that things could change in quite unexpected ways.

Does trading volume mean profit?

The end of 2024 was quite spectacular as BTC skyrocketed from under $70,000 to over $108,000 in less than two months after the US presidential election. On a smaller scale, however, the asset has struggled over the past ten days as it fell from the aforementioned all-time high to $92,000 over several days and is now at $94,000.

Furthermore, trading volume has been down over the past week, which is quite predictable given the holiday season. However, according to data from Santiment, that could actually be a driving force behind the price increase. The analytics platform points out that during times of low trading volume, whales play a particularly important role if their accumulation continues.

Many large investors have been on a buying spree across a variety of assets, not just BTC. In fact, “speculative altcoins” are even more prone to price spikes on such occasions, which could benefit meme coins like DOGE. On-chain data shared by Ali Martinez shows that Dogecoin investors have taken advantage of the dip to buy more of the biggest meme coin over the past few days.

Stablecoins on Binance

Another factor is the growing stablecoin reserves on the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Binance has seen a surge in such assets, often deployed to accumulate BTC or altcoins. The exchange now holds $29 billion in USDT and USDC, according to CryptoQuant, which "highlights the important role Binance has played in providing liquidity and stability to the market during this explosive growth period."

“Stablecoins like USDT and USDC are important for traders and institutions, acting as a bridge between fiat and crypto, and allowing seamless trading during volatile periods,” the report said. The report concluded that the surge in the two largest stablecoins by market capitalization is a “bullish signal.”