Whales Exercise Patience as Bitcoin and Ethereum Consolidate: On-Chain Insights

As leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum enter a consolidation phase, on-chain data reveals the behavior of large holders, or whales. On-chain analytics firm Santiment suggests that these whales may be strategically waiting for optimal conditions rather than losing interest.

Lowest Levels of Large Transactions in 2023: Santiment notes that large transactions, defined as those exceeding $100,000, are currently at their lowest levels in 2023. This trend indicates a potential period of strategic waiting for whales, rather than a lack of interest. With Bitcoin trading between $26K and $27K, and Ethereum at $1.6K to $1.65K, the market’s top caps exhibit a cautious approach.

Accumulation Among Long-Term Holders: Long-term Bitcoin hodlers, individuals holding Bitcoin for over 155 days, now control 70% of the total supply, equivalent to 14,787,265 BTC. This growing number of long-term holders suggests an ongoing trend of accumulation in preparation for the next bull run. Over 57% of Bitcoins on the network have not been moved in over two years, according to Bitcoin analyst Charles Edwards.

In just the past hour, over 40,000 ETH Block calls were traded, almost all buying 29DEC23-2200-C, and with the nearly 50,000 buying 27OCT23-2000-C last night, the cumulative number of block calls traded has reached 92,600 ETH. The whale actively bought $150 million worth of…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 18, 2023

BTC and ETH Price Movement: At the time of writing, BTC has experienced a 1.16% increase in the last 24 hours, reaching $26,865. Analyst Ali’s recent assessment indicates potential upward pressure targeting $28,000 or $31,000, with a bearish scenario invalidated if BTC falls below $24,500.

Whale’s Bullish Bet on ETH: Recent data from Wu Blockchain reveals a cumulative trade volume of 92,600 ETH block calls in the past 24 hours. Additionally, a prominent whale has executed a significant trade, purchasing $150 million worth of notional ETH calls. These bullish buys reflect a clear long-term outlook.

Current ETH Price and Performance: As of the latest update, ETH is trading in positive territory, with a marginal increase in the last 24 hours, bringing it to $1,636.