After a market-wide dip on Christmas day, cryptocurrency markets are showing signs of recovery, driven by increased stablecoin inflows to centralized exchanges. On-chain intelligence provider Santiment highlighted a notable shift in whale activity, with multiple large stablecoin deposits into centralized exchanges, signaling potential increased demand for cryptos.
In the past 24 hours alone, Santiment’s dashboard reported seven separate stablecoin deposits to Binance, with individual transfers worth at least $9 million. The largest deposit, according to the dashboard, amounted to $50 million in FDUSD, about 2.33% of the stablcoin’s total supply.
🐳💸 After the post-Christmas market-wide dip, crypto markets are seeing an encouraging trend of whales moving stablecoins to exchanges. According to the @santimentfeed top CEX deposits dashboard, there have been 7 different @binance deposits worth at least $9M in the past 24… pic.twitter.com/XpAn0BvrhM
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 27, 2024
Hours ago, Whale Alerts reported that an unknown whale transferred about $500 million to Binance, amplifying the sentiment that investors could be readying wallets to buy the dip.
Stablecoins, commonly used for fiat on/off-ramp across exchanges, are often moved to CEXs for asset acquisition. Analysts believe these inflows are a bullish sign, suggesting that traders and institutional players are preparing for potential market moves.
Are whales preparing to accumulate crypto assets?
The high market activity in stablecoin inflows seemingly coincides with a fall in exchange reserves on cryptos like Bitcoin. According to data from CryptoQuant, spot Bitcoin exchange reserves saw a 5% downtick in the last 30 days, which could mean investors are planning to take up holding positions.
Bitcoin spot exchanges reserve 30-day chart. Source: CryptoQuant
Moreover, the taker buy volume metric, provided by CryptoQuant, also indicates that Bitcoin demand is on the rise. A surge in taker buy volume often points to heightened interest from traders and increasing buying pressure, a trend typically favorable for prices.
On Binance, Bitcoin’s taker buy volume has been on the rise between November 1 and December 25, forming higher lows over this period.
Binance’s Bitcoin taker buy volume in December. Source: CryptoQuant
This uptrend signals a growing demand for Bitcoin, further suggesting that buying pressure is intensifying, which could support a positive price movement in the near future.
Bitcoin, which saw a temporary dip following its failure to participate in the traditional “Santa Claus rally,” remains around the $96,000 mark. Despite the pullback, Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics are showing signs of increased buying pressure, particularly on centralized exchange platforms.
Institutional interest in Bitcoin also appears to be on the rise, following a brief period of outflows from Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). According to Farside Investors, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $475.2 million on Thursday, reversing a four-day streak of outflows prior to the holiday.
Altcoins experience mixed performance
While Bitcoin’s performance remains the focal point, altcoins have also seen some movement. On Christmas Day, several major altcoins posted slight gains. Ethereum rose close to $3,500, marking a 2% increase, while XRP jumped to $2.30, also reflecting a similar upward trend.
Other altcoins such as BNB, ADA, TRX, and LINK saw modest increases of around 2% each.
However, the post-Christmas correction hit the broader market hard. Ethereum, after peaking near $3,500, has dropped to the $3,400 level, reflecting a 1% daily decline. XRP, Dogecoin, Solana, and others experienced similar setbacks.
Cryptocurrencies like ADA, AVAX, LINK, SHIB, HBAR, XLM, and DOT registered more substantial losses, with some falling by up to 9% on Thursday. AAVE, ONDO, and HYPE have seen even steeper declines, plummeting by 10%.
Meanwhile, the cumulative market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has experienced a significant pullback. On December 25, the total market cap stood at $3.6 trillion, but by the end of the following day, it had dropped to $3.46 trillion, a decrease of over $100 billion, per Coingecko’s recent updates.
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