Starting July 29th, blockchain data tracked by Santiment shows that major Bitcoin holders (whales and sharks), or wallet owners with 10-10,000 $BTC, have accumulated over 20,000 $BTC, amounting to $1.2 billion at the current market price. The accumulation occurred within a narrow price range below $65,000, where the market has recently shown volatility.
"Given the trend of Bitcoin accumulation by key market participants and its sell-off by small holders, the likelihood of reaching the $70,000 mark or higher is becoming increasingly high compared to the probability of falling below $60,000," Santiment stated on X.
The company explained that these divergent trends are linked to the hack of the hardware Coldcard Wallet, which began on July 30th and has since allowed a hacker to gain control of $120 million worth of Bitcoin. The company stated that uncertainty surrounding the CLARITY Act and price stagnation are also catalysts for micro-investor apathy.
ETF fund flows also indicate a preliminary recovery in institutional demand.
According to data from SoSoValue, U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted $754.69 million in investments this week. This suggests their week could be the best since April.
"The most obvious shift occurred in institutional flows," explained Leah Kahlchev, an analyst at Nexo, commenting on the ETF inflows. "Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted over $500,000,000 in August, inflows continued throughout the week, and more than $240 million was attracted just on Wednesday – a sharp reversal compared to June, when the funds recorded their worst month on record."
It is worth noting that despite the accumulation on-chain and through ETFs, the spot price of $BTC has yet to demonstrate significant growth. According to Kahlchev, this is a clear sign of what kind of buyers are currently entering the market.
"The fact that the reversal hasn't yet led to substantial price growth is telling in itself: some analysts claim the marginal buyer appears more tactical than confident, and that for a real recovery, a decisive close above $65,000 will likely be needed," explained Kahlchev.
The $BTC price chart points to the potential for notable growth. At the same time, the fact that the U.S. Senate is unlikely to vote on the CLARITY Act this month creates hurdles. The CLARITY Act is widely seen as a factor that would unlock large-scale institutional demand for cryptocurrencies.
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