Nikolas Sargeant
Unprecedented Flow of 700,000 BTC to OTC Desks
The influx of such a substantial volume of tokens raises questions about miners' intentions, potentially signaling preparations to sell or trade their Bitcoin holdings. With the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), miners are seizing the opportunity to leverage their significant BTC reserves for OTC trades catering to institutional investors.
This strategic move not only allows miners to earn substantial transaction fees but also positions them to secure favorable pricing conditions, particularly ahead of the eagerly anticipated Bitcoin halving scheduled for April this year. This activity marks a notable departure from previous behavior, where miners had temporarily halted the offloading of tokens amid a series of sell-offs during last month's price rebound.
The recent shift in miner behavior aligns with an influx of whales into the market. CryptoQuant's data reveals a significant rise in Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 BTC, indicating the participation of whales or institutional investors. This surge is attributed to the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, contributing to a sharp market uptrend.
Bitcoin Holding Trends
Data analysis unveils that the holdings of large Bitcoin entities have achieved a new all-time high since July 2022. From December 2022, their holdings surged from 3.694 million BTC to 3.964 million BTC, highlighting a considerable surge in demand for Bitcoin investments. This upswing in the holdings of entities with 1,000 to 10,000 Bitcoin correlates with upward movements in market prices. Currently, Bitcoin is trading just below $52,000, reflecting a substantial 30% gain over the past month.
