On the night of 28 November, bitcoin (BTC) rose to the $38,130 level. This digital currency increased its value after it fell below the $37,000 mark earlier this week.

A host of experts have expressed the view that bitcoin could possibly surpass the $40,000 mark by December.

While some experts are positive about the future of BTC, CryptoQuant has expressed a more sceptical outlook, finding that major players are directing bitcoins to exchange addresses.

The rising ratio between reserves held on exchanges and those held off-exchange in large wallets is seen by analysts as a sign of a bearish trend.

Analysts also note that the reserve ratio of large bitcoin holders has been declining in 2021. This means that addresses that control more than 1,000 BTC were moving the cryptocurrency to cold wallets.

This tactic helped reduce pressure on the asset as the amount of bitcoin available for sale decreased.

In mid-November, major players had already conducted a sell-off, which led to a reduction in the number of wallets with balances over 1,000 BTC.

Large investors parted with the cryptocurrency favourably, while small and medium-sized addresses began to acquire it actively, Santiment analysts emphasise.

If large holders of bitcoin decide to continue their sales in the coming days, retail traders may again become the main buyers in the market.