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Crypto whales and sharks have been known to sway the market in one direction, triggering losses or gains by simply moving their assets. Watching the activities of these market stakeholders can help traders prepare for the next potential move in the price of an asset.
Analysts at crypto data platform Santiment have revealed the accumulation and dumping trends of whale and shark wallets for top digital assets like bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC) over the past months.
According to the report, key stakeholders or whales, in this case, are wallets with more than $100,000 in value. The only exceptions to Santiment’s rule are BTC and ETH, which have ultra-large market capitalizations.
Bitcoin Whale Activity is Down
Santiment’s analysis found that the percentage of bitcoin held by wallets with 10 to 10,000 BTC has slumped 0.40% in the past two months. At the same time, the total collective of BTC held by the same cohort of market participants is down 0.21% within the same timeframe.
In addition, BTC transfers worth $100,000 and above have declined in the past three months, extending to some weeks before the asset hit an all-time high in mid-March. This decline also extends to daily BTC transfers worth $1,000,000 and above.
Analysts noted that the decline is not a major cause for concern because zooming out to the past six months and isolating the collective holdings of the 10 to 10,000 BTC wallets shows that the long-term accumulation pattern of these market participants is moving northwards.
“This isn’t necessarily bad, as it simply reflects that large key stakeholders are not finding any significant opportunities to profit take or accumulate right now,” Santiment analysts said.
Ethereum Gains on Bitcoin
Besides BTC, the total collective USDT held by wallets with $100,000 to $10 million in Tether has been down 5.55% in the past two months, while that of USDC has been up 11.45% within the same time frame. Analysts said the accumulation of USDC, while it does not make up for the continued dumping of USDT, implies growing buying power.
On the other hand, Ethereum stakeholders have been persistent in accumulating ETH. Over the past 14 months, wallets holding at least 10,000 ETH have accumulated 21.39 million ETH, upping their balances by 27%.
In recent weeks, the rumors and approvals of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have further pushed the ETH accumulation trend upwards. Daily ETH transfers worth more than $10,000 and $1 million witnessed a notable spike after U.S. authorities greenlit the ETFs for trading.
Santiment’s analysts predict that Ethereum will continue to gain on Bitcoin by percentage if the wallets holding more than 10,000 ETH keep moving north in their accumulation.