Number of Bitcoin Whales Hits 2 Year High as Accumulation Accelerates

The number of Bitcoin (BTC) whales with at least BTC 1,000 (USD 6.9 million) in their wallets has reached its highest point in more than 2 years, or almost 1,850 entities, according to a new research.

Also, the number of whales active in the market during an “accumulation phase” has not been this high since the end of 2015, crypto market researcher Glassnode said in its weekly report. In fact, according to them, the number of these large players actually increased ahead of the market crash in mid-March, and “accelerated during and after the crash.”

In addition, the report also noted that the rise in the number of whales becomes particularly interesting when compared to the last Bitcoin mining reward halving event in July 2016, which was pretty much the exact point where the number of whales again started to decrease.

In other words, according to the report, the largest BTC holders have previously accumulated coins ahead of a halving, and sold coins after the halving has taken place.

Based on the current growth in the number of whales, Glassnode’s report concluded that “whales remain confident that now is a good time to be accumulating BTC,” and that they believe we still have “further room for growth” ahead.

As reported earlier, it appears that whales are also active in ethereum (ETH), the second most valuable cryptoasset. According to crypto research firm Santiment, the 100 largest ethereum holders are once again accumulating more ETH tokens relative to the total ETH supply, suggesting that the asset is “undervalued” and “a great mid to long-term hold play.”