Bitcoin Whales made $3B amid FUDs, panic, and net outflows last week

Bitcoin whales have led by market example with their recent market profits. Despite the recent waves of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) about BTC ETFs that swept through the crypto sphere, causing panic and triggering net outflows, Bitcoin whales emerged as formidable players, navigating the storm with finesse as they have done since the advent of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Whales lead by example

Large investors, or Bitcoin whales, amassed $3 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) in January, according to data compiled by the on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock. The aforementioned accumulation trend is apparent in the nearly 7.8 million BTC that have been added to wallets containing more than 1,000 BTC. This represents an increase of approximately 76,000 BTC.

The escalation in whale activity comes jointly with the January introduction of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based in the United States, which initially propelled Bitcoin prices to levels exceeding $48,900. Last week, prices encountered a decline in sentiment, plummeting to levels around $38,500, due to the withdrawal of funds by investors in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Notwithstanding the decline in price, certain investors perceived a prospect to procure coins at reduced valuations via the crypto exchange Bitfinex.

At the time of this writing, the value of BTC stands at $43,345.61, reflecting a 0.1% surge from the last hour and a 3.0% surge since yesterday. As of today, BTC is worth 8.4% more than it did seven days ago. BTC’s fear and greed index presently standa at 61.

The current valuation of cryptocurrencies on a global scale stands at $1.75 trillion, representing a change of 2.52% over the last twenty-four hours and 63.37% over the last year. At present, BTC’s market capitalization stands at $851 billion, signifying a 48.76% market dominance. Stablecoins, meanwhile, have a market cap of $137 billion, or 7.84% of the total crypto market cap.

In contrast to whale buildup, crypto funds saw net withdrawals last week. Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) experienced $2.2 billion in net withdrawals, while newly established spot BTC ETFs saw only $1.8 billion in net inflows. This led to a net outflow of $500 million.

Outflows spread into this week

The Bitcoin price recovery coincides with excitement surrounding the impending FOMC meeting. Interestingly, GBTC outflows have halted while BTC ETF inflows remain unchanged.

On Monday, January 29, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw its 12th straight day of outflows. The numbers clearly reveal that outflows have slowed to $191.7 million.

Grayscale had 496,573.8166 BTC as of January 29, 2024, and GBTC’s Assets Under Management (AUM) totaled around $21.431 billion. Following the approval of the spot ETF, Grayscale users sold a total of 120,500 BTC, worth approximately $5.508 billion.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, Grayscale’s GBTC continues to lead in liquidity, with trade exceeding $570 million, outpacing second-place $IBIT by around $110 million today.

This reduction in outflows signals that Bitcoin’s selling pressure is easing. The most recent GBTC outflows show an almost 25% drop from $255 million on January 26 and a massive 70% drop from the fund’s peak daily outflows of $641 million on January 22.

On the other side, Fidelity’s spot BTC ETF, FBTC, achieved a significant milestone with $208 million in daily inflows on Jan. 29, topping outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) for the first time since its inception. According to data from Farside Investors and BitMEX Research, investor sentiment is shifting.

The outflow of funds from GBTC is decreasing, with daily redemptions dropping over the last week, implying that the selling pressure may be receding. On Monday, Fidelity’s FBTC witnessed $208 million in inflows, which outpaced GBTC’s $192 million withdrawals.