Bitcoin Whale Purchases in 2024: Analyzing the Statistics

Bitcoin Whales Have Accumulated This Much BTC In 2024

According to on-chain data, Bitcoin whales have added a significant amount of BTC to their combined holdings since the beginning of 2024. The on-chain analytics firm Santiment has provided insights into the changes in the holdings of these large investors.

The Importance of Supply Distribution

The metric of interest in this analysis is the “Supply Distribution,” which reveals the total amount of Bitcoin held by different wallet groups on the network. These wallet groups are categorized based on the number of coins they currently possess.

Sharks and Whales

Two groups that are particularly relevant to this discussion are the “sharks” and “whales.” Sharks refer to BTC investors holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC, while whales are those with 1,000 to 10,000 BTC. As both groups have substantial holdings, they can exert influence in the market. However, whales hold more power due to their larger holdings.

The Impact of Group Movements

While individual moves by members of these groups may not have significant visible effects on the market, collective actions can create substantial market movements. When these investors act as a group, their influence can send shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market.

Trends in Supply Distribution

The chart provided showcases the trend in Bitcoin Supply Distribution for both sharks and whales over the past year. It reveals that whale-held supply has significantly increased since the start of 2024, while shark-held supply has experienced a noticeable decline during the same period.

Whale Accumulation and Shark Selling

In total, the 1,000 to 10,000 BTC wallet group has accumulated 248,900 BTC, while the 100 to 1,000 BTC cohort has sold 151,200 BTC. At current prices, these amounts are valued at approximately $13 billion and $8 billion respectively. The buying from influential whales has outweighed the selling from sharks, resulting in a net accumulation worth $5 billion by these large holders.

Possible Reasons for Shark Selling

Some of the apparent selloff by sharks may actually be a result of some members of this group buying enough BTC to cross the 1,000 BTC threshold and become part of the whale cohort. Therefore, it’s possible that the overall accumulation from whales is even greater than indicated.

Increased Whale Activity

In addition to supply distribution data, Santiment has also provided information on the number of transactions made by whales. This metric recently reached its highest value across a 5-day span since June 2022, indicating an increase in activity by these large investors.