Marcus Sotiriou, Market Analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock (TSXV:BLOK) reports that Bitcoin is being accumulated by whales.
Bitcoin (BTC) has had a tough year, like most all markets. BTC started 2022 at around $47,000. As of today, it looks like it will exit 2022, hovering around $16,500, a price it has not experienced since November 2020.
In a note distributed earlier today, Sotiriou states that Bitcoin is “hovering above a critical up-trending line of support.” If it does not hold support, it risks tumbling further to around $15,500. Even though Bitcoin, and crypto in general, has been in full bear mode, Sotiriou claims that data from Glassnode shows Bitcoin whales are accumulating with whale addresses (the number of Bitcoin addresses above 10,000 Bitcoin) has risen sharply this year.
“This means there is a significantly larger portion of Bitcoin whales now compared to the start of the year, as whales have decided to accumulate more Bitcoin whilst it is discounted.”
The analyst noted that MicroStrategy is adding to its Bitcoin holdings – although it did recently reveal that it sold some BTC for tax purposes.
Sotiriou quotes MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor who stated last week:
“The most positive thing of the year is the emergence of Bitcoin as the institutional grade digital asset and the clarity that … there is one crypto asset that’s a digital commodity … Bitcoin is that commodity.”
Since even the SEC acknowledges that Bitcoin is a commodity and not a security – this reduces the amount of regulatory risk. Of course, broader markets, including traditional ones, will also impact Bitcoin pricing as we have seen the correlation play out in the past year. The bears have been pretty persistent in 2022 – something that may spill over into 2023.