Large Bitcoin Investors Reach New All-Time High in Holdings

While the Bitcoin price currently stands at $64K with a slight decline of 0.7% in the past 24 hours, on-chain data paint a striking picture. Large investors holding more than 1 BTC are seizing the current dip to accumulate further. Their combined holdings thus reach a new all-time high of over 16.8 million BTC.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

Institutionalisation drives accumulation among large players

Analyst Darkfost points out that the growing amount of Bitcoin held by large investors may reflect the increasing institutionalisation of the market. This is not a short-term move, but a trend playing out over a longer period. Large parties see price corrections as opportunities to buy more instead of selling.

The chart from CryptoQuant shows that the holdings of large investors have been rising almost uninterrupted since early 2023, from approximately 16 million to now over 16.8 million BTC. Meanwhile, the price has experienced significant fluctuations in the same period. The behaviour of this group therefore stands in stark contrast to the market volatility. Notably, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs together recently attracted over $19 million, further confirming institutional interest.

Retail investors cautiously return

On the retail investor side, the picture is more nuanced. Their total holdings currently stand at around 1.7 million BTC, still below the record from December 2023. Accumulation appears to be resuming, but at a much more cautious pace than among the large players.

Some retail investors may be selling along the way, which could be strategically smart. Others are shifting their exposure to ETFs, which are easier to manage than direct crypto holdings. Meanwhile, Bitcoin miners are selling BTC en masse while operating at a loss, adding extra pressure to the market.

Nevertheless, Darkfost notes that both groups, large and small investors, increasingly view the current period as a favourable time to build positions.