Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is on a steady stretch as market makers strive to keep the price above the $43,000 price mark. At the time of writing, the coin is changing hands for $43,060.65, down 0.14% in 24 hours. The erratic growth in the price of Bitcoin has pushed it as low as $42,584.34 from a high of $43,422.49.
Bitcoin whale action
One intriguing trend in Bitcoin as spotted by the crypto analytics platform Santiment is the action of BTC whales. As the price of the coin ranges from $41,000 to $44,000 this week, Santiment observed a large whale transaction trend.
The analytics firm said BTC whales with 1,000 to 10,000 coins came in at 1,958 on Feb. 1. This number comes in as the highest count on the network since November 2022. In contrast, the number of whales holding 100 to 1,000 BTC in their wallets came in at 13,735 as of Feb. 1. This figure represents the lowest level since November 2022.
While the whales in the 1,000 to 10,000 category per the Santiment data have grown by 47 more wallets in six days, the smaller whales have recorded 157 fewer addresses within the same period.
This divergent Bitcoin whale data underscores the different dynamics at play in the market at the time. With large whales growing in number, smaller whales appear to be reverting their stakes, potentially in pursuit of alternative investments.
Bitcoin ETF sentiment
The advent of spot Bitcoin ETF products as green-lit by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January changed the accumulation dynamics that support the growth in the number of large Bitcoin whales.
As mainstream investors subscribe to one of the offerings from the ETF issuers, part of the proceeds goes into acquiring more Bitcoin, thus adding to the overall whale count. With the products just starting out, more whales might make their emergence in the near future.