The number of large Bitcoin holders (aka Bitcoin whales) is now approaching the 2017 levels. This could be a game changer for the industry overall because it was during that time that Bitcoin went on a massive bull run that saw the price increase from around $500 to a massive $20,000 in a matter of months leading up to January 2018. However, the indicator is far from a surety that this will indeed happen again.
Bitcoin has ever since been in a long-term bear market and everyone is looking up to the market of 2017 to find connections for that era. It is because everyone likes to reminisce about the 2017 Bitcoin bull run and often tries to draw comparisons to justify another significant bullish move by the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin whales are currency holders who have a considerable amount of bitcoin in their addresses. Since Bitcoin is a publicly viewable ledger, one can study the whale patterns easily and see how they are acting within the Bitcoin ecosystem. These whales have considerable powers of market manipulation and it is important to see how their interests are shaping up.
One of the ways how whales can create bull markets or bear markets is by holding huge number of cryptocurrency in the long-term or dumping it in large amounts at the market price. Whale monitors are active 24/7 in the cryptocurrency world and they can trigger an appreciation of decrease in price just based on the whale movements sometimes.
Just like in 2017, the number of whales (defined as addresses with more than 1000 BTC in their accounts) have experienced a steady growth during the last few months and is now approaching the 2017 levels. According to analytics firm Glassnode, 1,882 Bitcoin whales were known to hold more than 1000 BTC back in September 2017 when the price was hovering around $3k. However, the metric is not a sure indication for a bull run in the future because the same number of whales was present back in March 2016 as well when Bitcoin was worth a measly $320.
Being a Bitcoin whale is one thing and a Bitcoin whale HODLer is yet another. Some whales use their funds to manipulate the market for good but, many despite phenomenal crashes like the one witnessed on March 12 this year donot liquidate their positions very easily. HODLers believe that Bitcoin just like a regular currency is meant to be owned, stored and used and shouldn’t be used for day trading as that defeats the purpose of an alternative currency of the world.
As long as Bitcoin whales donot liquidate their long-term positions, it is expected that the next bull run will be experienced within the crypto market before the fall of 2021 and may even start as early as Fall 2020. The coronavirus pandemic and monetary mismanagement by the governments around the world has accelerated the adoption of cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin and the sector may respond to the latest developments earlier this time around. However, only time can tell which way the wind blows eventually.
Image source: pixabay.com
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