- Decline in Bitcoin Whale Transactions
- Similar Issue with Ethereum
- Market Reaction and Analyst Predictions
The number of large Bitcoin transactions has significantly decreased since the price peak in March this year. Recent statistics show a 33.6% drop in transactions of $100,000 or above.
Decline in Bitcoin Whale Transactions
This slowdown has been a major shift in market dynamics, especially from the groups known for their substantial influence on the price. However, this is in line with the general trend of lowered market activity, especially among significant Bitcoin holders. Bitcoin's price soared to a record of $73,679 in March but then declined. While transactions are reducing, Santiment has noted that whale inactivity could not be a sign of a bearish market.
Similar Issue with Ethereum
Similarly, large transactions in Ethereum have also dropped significantly in the last few months. Santiment shows that large Ethereum transactions above $100,000 have dropped by 72.5% since the middle of March. This sharp drop, along with the situation in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, points to a general stagnation in the market. Like Bitcoin whales, Ethereum whales usually have a significant impact on market trends. They frequently act when the market is highly emotional, either in fear or greed, to make substantial shifts. Although this may look like a decline, these whales may be waiting for an opportune time to return to the market, with a close eye on sentiment.
Market Reaction and Analyst Predictions
While whale activity decreased, overall market sentiment shifted toward the fear zone. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures investor sentiment, is at 31, indicating high investor caution. Bitcoin has fallen 0.97% since mid-August and is currently hovering around $58,360. However, some analysts predict further short-term challenges for Bitcoin prices. Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, predicts that Bitcoin may fall to the $40,000 range before commencing the next upward trend.
Bitcoin's network activity has also dropped significantly, reaching its lowest point in the last three years. The number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network has fallen to 744,000, the lowest level since 2021, according to CryptoQuant. This decline in network activity coincides with the reduction in whale transactions, indicating lower market interest. However, experts caution that the current whale inactivity should not be seen as a long-term trend. Santiment notes that large Bitcoin holders typically remain inactive and wait for market extremities to make large-scale decisions.
