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Bitcoin (BTC) whales, large holders of the cryptocurrency, have resumed their buying spree after a pause following Bitcoin’s all-time high in March. Market intelligence firm CryptoQuant reported a surge in the 30-day percentage change in whale address holdings, indicating a growing interest in accumulating Bitcoin at current price levels.
In March, whales had increased their BTC holdings by more than 9.8%. Although their accumulation continued into April, the rate of growth slowed to 4.2% by May 1, coinciding with a significant market dip that saw Bitcoin's price plummet over 20% to under $57,000. However, since hitting the market bottom, the accumulation rate has rebounded to 5.5% as of May 22, signaling renewed interest from whales. During the market dip in early May, whales reportedly acquired 47,000 BTC, as highlighted by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju.
The return of strong buying force among Bitcoin whales suggests that they perceive the current prices as favorable for purchasing and accumulating. Whales, defined as owners of Bitcoin addresses holding between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC, excluding mining firms and crypto exchanges, tend to increase their buying activity during bull markets and reduce it during bearish phases.
Bitcoin's current price stands at $69,065, gaining 0.24% over the past 24 hours and 3.58% over the week. Notably, the amount of money invested by whales in Bitcoin has more than doubled from $57 billion to $122 billion since the beginning of the year, based on the observed "realized cap" of whale coins. The realized cap considers the total value of coins owned by whales at the time of purchase, rather than their current market value.