Unprecedented Profit-Taking: Bitcoin Whales Realize Over $1 Billion in Fortnight

2024-07-02, 15:39

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## [TL; DR]
Bitcoin whales sold BTC worth around $44,000 in the first three weeks of June.

Many <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> miners aim to switch their computing power to the artificial intelligence sector.

The <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin price</a> may fall to $57,963 before rebounding to $66,173.

## Introduction
The activities of various market participants such as crypto holders influence price movements of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. For instance, the buying and selling patterns of [both long term and short term crypto holders determine their market performances](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/day-trading-vs-long-term-cryptocurrency-hodling-benefits-and-drawbacks/2374 "both long term and short term crypto holders determine their market performances") and sentiment. This analysis focuses on the recent market behaviour of large scale bitcoin smart investors often referred to as BTC whales.

## Understanding Crypto Market Participants: Who Are the Bitcoin Whales?
During the second and third weeks of June bitcoin whales were on a selling-spree as they sold over $1 billion worth of BTC. Some of these bitcoin whales were the asset’s long term holders who include general investors and miners. The large scale sales raised questions about the future bitcoin price movement.

Bitcoin whales are large scale holders of the asset with at least 1,000 BTC, valued at around $65 million at its current price. In most cases, these crypto whales are institutional investors and companies rather than individuals who trade bitcoin.

## June’s Record-Breaking Profit Realization by "Old Whales" 
In the first half of June alone, miners and bitcoin whales sold bitcoin worth over $1.2 billion, a sign of profit-taking on their part. That was the largest bitcoin off-loading by large scale holders since May when bitcoin fell below $70,000. Most likely these long-term bitcoin holders were selling their BTC holdings to brokers rather than to cryptocurrency exchanges. The [CryptoQuant’s data indicates](https://cryptoquant.com/analytics/query/6671cccd93c30073780d6804 "CryptoQuant’s data indicates") that there has been a decrease in bitcoin’s UTXO age band sizes, a situation associated with a rise in bitcoin sales without involving exchanges.

Unspent transaction output (UTXO) refers to the technique used to track the balances of a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. It also shows the amount of a digital currency’s balance following a certain transaction or a series of transactions. A decrease in UTXO indicates an increase in the asset’s selling activity. On the contrary, an increase in the UTXO means there has been a surge in buying activity.

The other indication of a rise in bitcoin sale is the decrease in stablecoin liquidity which denotes that the crypto investors are exiting their bitcoin positions. The fact that the investors were converting their bitcoin to fiat-pegged assets shows their intentions to sell their crypto holdings.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17199344491.jpg)
Source: x.com

Ki Young Ju, [CryptoQuant CEO, believes](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/crypto-quant_bitcoin-at-key-levels-activity-7208933339628503041-GAVO "CryptoQuant CEO, believes") that the recent bitcoin transactions were carried on brokers rather than exchanges which implies that the sell-off impact would take much time to manifest. Usually, such large crypto sell-offs have the potential to exacerbate bitcoin’s bearish momentum.

Onchain data shows that whereas [bitcoin whales](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/451/btc-whale-holders-is-it-possible-to-know-who-they-are "bitcoin whales") have been selling their holdings traders were not increasing their BTC acquisitions. Commenting on this [CryptoQuant said](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/crypto-quant_bitcoin-at-key-levels-activity-7208933339628503041-GAVO "CryptoQuant said"), “Traders are still not increasing their Bitcoin holdings, and large holders’ (whales) demand growth is still missing strength.” The market implications of this includes the fall in bitcoin price and a build-up of negative crypto sentiment.

The effect of this scenario is not only witnessed in the cryptocurrency market but also [in the spot BTC ETF](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/how-to-stake-eric/1494 "in the spot BTC ETF") sector where there were high bitcoin ETF outflows. Basically,the bitcoin ETF market mirrored the same trend as it recorded $460 million in netflows during the same period. Such outflows in both the bitcoin market and the ETF sector indicates sentiment of caution among large BTC holders and institutional investors. However, the CryptoQuant report indicates that the miners were the ones who sold the most bitcoin.

The profit-taking trend is an indication that the “old-whales” are the ones that had been selling their holdings as they acquired bitcoin when its market price was far less than the prevailing one. According to Julio Moreno CryptoQuant Head of Research, the profit taking was unprecedented. He only compared the sell-off impact to what occurred in April 2022 when the bitcoin price was around $40,000. At one time during that month the bitcoin whales realized $683 million within a single day.

It is important to note that the fall in the Unspent transaction output (UTXO) does not mean that the whales have stopped accumulating the cryptocurrency. This only means that the cohort is accumulating bitcoin at a lower rate than what it used to do before, resulting in less significant whale movements. On the other hand, the stablecoins market cap is still increasing but at a slower rate than before.

On a related note, WClementeIII said that bitcoin is [approaching the short term holder cost](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/1697 "approaching the short term holder cost") basis. Posting on X, [he/she said](https://twitter.com/WClementeIII/status/1803070012023849333 "he/she said"), “BTC approaching short-term holders' cost basis around $63.8k, don't want to see consecutive days closed below. Typically serves as a good line in the sand for trends.” The short-term holders’ cost basis is the average price at which the recent investors purchased bitcoin. Therefore, if the BTC price falls below the support line nearest to $63,800 the traders may panic and sell bitcoin in large amounts. That response may lead to a further price free-fall.

## Bitcoin Whale Transaction: Moving BTC worth $44 Million after a Decade
Another piece of evidence that shows that some bitcoin’s [long term hodlers are willing to sell their holdings](https://www.gate.io/how-to-buy/long-long "long term hodlers are willing to sell their holdings") is a whale’s movement of bitcoin that had been in a dormant wallet for a decade. Specifically, a bitcoin wallet that was inactive for the past 10 years moved 687.33 BTC, valued at around $44 million, for the first time. That wallet received the said bitcoin on 12 January 2014. There is no known reason for that recent movement of the coins.

## Recent Market Trends: Bitcoin ETF Outflows, the Performance of Bitcoin Mining Firms
As hinted above, traders are not in the [mood to buy bitcoin](https://www.gate.io/how-to-buy/bitcoin-btc "mood to buy bitcoin"). At the same time, the rate at which the whales are acquiring bitcoin has decreased due to the existing cryptocurrency market sentiment. Some market analysts think that many bitcoin miners are selling their holdings to raise capital to join the artificial intelligence sector which looks lucrative.

Lucy Hu, senior analyst at crypto fund Metalpha, reasons that the decline in mining rewards and slow growth of the bitcoin price is forcing the miners to shift their focus towards the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Regarding this, [Bee quoted Hu as saying](https://www.bee.com/th/13582.html "Bee quoted Hu as saying"), “The decline in mining rewards has prompted miners to seek other channels to increase their income. Due to the demand for energy-intensive data centers by artificial intelligence companies, Bitcoin miners are gradually gaining revenue from sales to artificial intelligence companies.”

Read also: [Predicting the Next Five Years of Cryptocurrency 2024–2029](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/predicting-the-next-five-years-of-cryptocurrency-2024-2029-innovations-regulations-and-market-predictions/3267 "Predicting the Next Five Years of Cryptocurrency 2024–2029")

## On-Chain Analysis and Market Predictions for BTC
Although, at the time of writing bitcoin is changing hands at $60,868 its price may rebound soon. As you may know, the bitcoin price has fallen by 10% within the last 30 days as the following diagram shows. 
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17199346792.jpg)
Bitcoin Monthly Price Chart – CoinGecko

As seen in the above monthly chart, the bitcoin price flipped bearish on 7 June till 24 June when it entered a demand zone. The last two bars on the price chart are green, indicating rising bullish momentum. Its current 14-bar demand zone should be a strong base for a [robust BTC price rise](https://www.gate.io/price/bitcoin-btc "robust BTC price rise"). According to Coinpedia price forecast the bitcoin price may slide to $57,963 if the bearish momentum continues. Nonetheless, a strong rebound may push bitcoin to the $66,173 price mark.

Read also: [Bitcoin Price Prediction & Forecast for 2024, 2025, 2030](https://www.gate.io/price-prediction/bitcoin-btc "Bitcoin Price Prediction & Forecast for 2024, 2025, 2030")

## Conclusion
During the first three weeks of June large bitcoin holders sold BTC worth $44,000. Most of these sellers are miners who might want to switch their computing power to the artificial intelligence sector. On the other hand, if the bearish momentum persists the bitcoin price may fall to $57,963. However, it may also retrace towards the $66,173 price point.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:* Mashell C.*, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>