Bitcoin power shift has large holders dumping 500,000 coins
Remove Ads
Crypto TrackerPowered By
TOP COINS
TOP COIN SETS Solana
12,954.92 (
2.46 %) Buy XRP
193.79 (
1.89 %) Buy Ethereum
2,19,585 (
1.74 %) Buy BNB
56,640 (
0.59 %) Buy Bitcoin
93,29,221 (
0.53 %) Buy
Popular in Markets
1.
The great Bitcoin power shift has large holders dumping 5,00,000 coins
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
A silent transfer of control is reshaping the $2.1 trillion Bitcoin market.A steady stream of sales by long-time whales - miners, offshore funds and anonymous wallets - is being matched almost one-for-one by institutional players like ETFs, corporates and asset managers. The result: Bitcoin is struggling to break out of its record high around $110,000, volatility is evaporating, and its place in the investment landscape is being reshaped.Despite a flurry of bullish headlines - from corporate treasuries embracing Bitcoin to the Trump administration's full-throated crypto endorsement - the largest digital currency has remained stuck in its trading range for months. Underneath the surface, long-dormant whales have been trimming positions just as institutions ramp up their buying. And this switchover is gradually recasting Bitcoin's identity from a high-octane trade to a slow-burn allocation.Over the past year, large holders, or Bitcoin whales, have offloaded more than 500,000 Bitcoin - worth over $50 billion at current prices - according to data compiled by 10x Research. That's roughly equal to the net inflows into the wildly successful US exchange-traded funds since their approval. And it's not far off from the $65 billion amassed over the past five years by crypto treasury pioneer Michael Saylor and his firm, now known as Strategy.Many of these whales trace back to Bitcoin's earliest cycles, when it traded far below current levels. In some cases, whales aren't simply selling, they're swapping tokens for deals tied to the stock market, bypassing the open market."What we're seeing is a churning in the base," said Edward Chin, co-founder of Parataxis Capital. "A less covered driver and potential reason for the churn and increasing network activity seems to be driven by whales converting their BTC into equity exposure through in-kind contributions of BTC into financing transactions tied to the public markets."Institutions - from ETFs and Saylor's Strategy to dozens of corporate imitators - now control about a quarter of all Bitcoin in circulation. Back in 2020, researcher Flipside Crypto estimated that about 2% of the anonymous ownership accounts that can be tracked on the cryptocurrency's blockchain controlled 95% of the digital asset. The power dynamic is shifting fast."Crypto is becoming less of an outlier and more established as a legitimate asset class," said Rob Strebel, head of relationship management at the trading firm DRW, which includes crypto-focused arm Cumberland. Alongside that shift, "we expect to see a compression in volatility."That appears to be already taking place, dampening one of the most alluring aspects of Bitcoin to many traders. A closely watched measure of price swings has declined to the lowest level in about two years, according to Deribit's BTC Volatility Index. The gauge monitors the 30-day forward-looking annualized expectations of volatility.While the whales cut exposure, ETFs, treasury companies and other institutions combined have absorbed nearly 900,000 coins in the past year, according to 10x Research. These players now hold about 4.8 million coins, out of about 20 million Bitcoin in circulation.But even as institutions bring stability and legitimacy to the asset class, some observers warn they're also providing the long-awaited exit ramp for whales, raising the risk that it's retail and retirement investors left holding the bag if crypto sentiment falters."The goal for a long time has always been to make Bitcoin a palatable asset for institutional investors to provide exit liquidity in volume so the whales could cash out," said Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University's Washington College of Law, a long-time crypto skeptic.After two straight years in which the price more than doubled, Bitcoin is still hovering around levels reached at the start of the year, despite President Donald Trump's pro-crypto agenda.Some analysts now expect Bitcoin's appreciation to be capped at 10% to 20% a year. That's a far cry from 2017's almost 1,400% surge that pushed the token into the mainstream."Bitcoin is probably more like boring dividend stock over time," said Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca. "On average it goes higher every year, but by less and less amount. It becomes more of an attractive retirement asset."Still, the picture is incomplete. Not all whale activity is visible, and Bitcoin could prove ever-volatile soon enough, especially if a new market catalyst emerges.Regardless, one big risk right now is imbalance: If Bitcoin whales resume selling at scale while institutional flows plateau, the market could tip into steep declines. Outflows of just 2% in 2018 and 9% in 2022 triggered Bitcoin price drops of 74% and 64%, respectively, according to 10x Research."We are nearing a point where the market is hitting its peak," said Fred Thiel, chief executive officer of Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings Inc., which has yet to sell any of its Bitcoin holdings. "My personal belief, however, is we are in a very different market dynamic today."All told, the shift from anonymous whales to institutional allocators may help sustain the current market dynamic for an extended period."This can go on for a long time - years," said Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research. "It's more of a slow grind, where Bitcoin becomes more of a 10%-20% asset. The nature of Bitcoin really changes."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Charting the global economy: Trump ramps up tariffs again
Trump unveiled a wave of letters again threatening key trading partners with high tariff rates even as he delayed the increased duties until Aug. 1 and suggested that he was still open to negotiations. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bloomberg Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump ramped back up his tariff plans with an eye on copper and Canada, deflating hopes that the administration was dialling back its initial Liberation Day levies first announced in said that US imports of copper — a vital component in power networks, plumbing and industrial machinery — will face a 50% duty from Aug. 1. He also threatened a 35% tariff on some Canadian goods and raised the prospect of increasing levies on most other countries, following threats to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil over its domestic political Thursday, Trump told NBC News he's eying blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on most trading partners who haven't been informed yet of their rates. The current global baseline minimum levy for nearly all US trading partners is 10%.Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, markets and geopolitics:Trump unveiled a wave of letters again threatening key trading partners with high tariff rates even as he delayed the increased duties until Aug. 1 and suggested that he was still open to negotiations. Still, the US president said the Aug. 1 deadline was 'not 100% firm' and signalled he might tweak the rates Reserve Bank of Australia shocked markets this week by keeping interest rates on hold at 3.85%, despite widespread expectations for a third cut in five months. Central bankers in Israel, Romania, New Zealand, Peru, Egypt, Serbia and Kazakhstan also kept interest rates unchanged. Uruguay surprised with a quarter-point rate cut, while Malaysia lowered borrowing costs for the first time since threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil over its domestic political affairs, the most extreme case yet of the US president weaponising trade policy to make unrelated demands. Trump's latest threat, against a nation that sells fewer goods to the US than it buys, risks reinforcing concerns that formal trade agreements may offer limited protection against future tariff annual inflation ticked up further above target, a signal of the long road ahead before the central bank can begin easing sky-high interest buyers of copper will pay a high price if President Donald Trump pushes ahead with a 50% tariff on refined metal as opposed to products such as wiring, according to producers and analysts. As Trump prepares to slap a 50% levy on imported copper as of Aug. 1, the global supply chain is sweating on details of the manufacturers secured the business tax provisions they'd hoped for in Trump's budget megabill, but the president's erratic trade policy risks tempering any pronounced pickup in capital investment. Still, some expect any notable upturn in capital expenditures to take longer to evolve because of the administration's frenetic tariff announcements as well as the levies assortment of cautionary signals emerged in the latest US jobs report, including weak and concentrated hiring in the private sector as well as a dip in hours worked that underscore a fragile job market. Private payrolls rose 74,000 last month, about half as much as in May. The health care and social assistance industry accounted for nearly 80% of all private sector job growth in June. Excluding that advance, companies added roughly 15,000 jobs — the least in eight Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said there'd have to be a major downward shift in inflation to justify another reduction in borrowing costs, dismissing concern that the economy is UK economy shrank for a second straight month as companies and consumers struggled to bounce back from the blow dealt by US tariffs and a raft of tax increases. Gross domestic product declined 0.1% in May after contracting 0.3% the previous have ramped up bookings at German natural gas storage sites, marking a sharp turnaround from earlier this year when the country exited winter with stockpiles at a three-year low and an unusual market structure made refills leading up to the Australian central bank interest rate decision Tuesday, policymakers sat silent as hot wars in the Middle East and trade wars from the US shook global confidence. That turmoil, along with local data skewed largely to the downside, boosted expectations for a rate cut. So when the bank stunned with a decision to keep rates unchanged, it caught just about everyone automakers slashed the price of products exported to the US at a record pace, in a sign that companies are sacrificing profits to remain competitive as Trump's tariffs hit cars. Last month the export price index for vehicles shipped to North America plunged 19.4% from a year earlier on a contract currency basis, the biggest drop in records going back to 2016.
New Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Mexico slams Trump threat of 30 per cent tariffs as 'unfair deal'
MEXICO CITY: Mexico slammed US President Donald Trump's latest threat of 30 percent tariffs Saturday as an "unfair deal," according to a government statement. Mexico was informed of the new duties -- which Trump said would come into effect by August 1 -- during talks in the United States on Friday. "We mentioned at the table that it was an unfair deal and that we did not agree," the Mexican economy and foreign ministries said in a joint statement. Mexico is already in negotiations seeking an alternative to tariffs that would protect businesses and jobs on both sides of the border, the ministries added, saying they hope to avoid the duties. President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Trump often refers to favorably, expressed confidence Saturday that a deal would be reached. "We are going to reach an agreement with the US government," Sheinbaum said during a public event hours after Trump's social media post announcing the elevated tariffs. She said the talks in Washington would allow Mexico to be in a "better position" by August 1. Mexico is one of the countries most vulnerable to the US leader's tariffs, with 80 percent of its exports destined for its northern neighbor, which is also its largest trading partner. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has reproached Mexico for not doing what he says is enough to prevent illegal migration and drug trafficking across the border, and has wielded tariffs as retaliation.
India Gazette
37 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Daily World Briefing, July 13
Air India crash report shows both engines shut down shortly after takeoff Both engines of the recently crashed Air India airplane had shut down mid-air within seconds of take-off, showed a preliminary investigation report released on Saturday by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (ABI). According to Indian media, the report said that before the Flight AI-171 plane crashed, the switches controlling the fuel flow of the two engines switched from "RUN" to "CUT OFF" within a second of each other, which caused the aircraft engines to stop working. The cockpit voice recorder shows that one of the pilots asked, "Why did you cut off?" and the other pilot replies, "I didn't." The accident report also showed that both switches were moved back to the "RUN" position and while Engine 1 showed signs of recovery, Engine 2 could not. Trump announces 30 pct tariffs on EU, Mexican goods starting Aug. 1 U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday morning that 30 percent tariffs will be imposed on the European Union (EU) and Mexico as of Aug. 1. The new tariffs were announced in the letters addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and posted on Trump's social media platform Truth Social. Trump criticized Mexico for its "failure to stop the cartels" from smuggling drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States, and accused the country of not doing enough to cooperate with Washington in curbing illegal immigration. In the case of the EU, the U.S. president scolded the bloc for its tariff and non-tariff barriers, which he blamed for causing "long-term, large, and persistent Trade Deficits." EU chief slams Trump tariff threat, pledges retaliation if required European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Saturday that Washington's decision to impose 30 percent tariffs on European Union (EU) exports risks severely disrupting transatlantic supply chains, and pledged that the EU would respond with countermeasures if necessary. "Imposing 30 percent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers, and patients on both sides of the Atlantic," von der Leyen said in a statement. Her comments followed an earlier announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said his administration would impose 30 percent tariffs on EU exports, arguing that bilateral trade had long been unbalanced and lacked reciprocity. Von der Leyen responded that the EU remained committed to a negotiated solution, but emphasized that the bloc would act to defend its economic interests if negotiations failed. PKK disarmament opens "new page in history" for Trkiye: Erdogan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday declared "a new page" in history for Trkiye, as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) begins the disarmament process. "As of yesterday, the 47-year-long terror scourge has entered a phase of ending. Trkiye has begun closing a long, painful chapter filled with anguish and tears," Erdogan said while addressing members of his ruling Justice and Development Party in Kizilcahamam district, Ankara Province. On Friday, a group of PKK militants burned their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in Iraq's northern Sulaymaniyah province. "From now on, we will sit down and talk -- not with weapons or violence, not for conflict, but for unity, fraternity, and face-to-face dialogue by removing the obstacle of terror," he said.
