Santiment, a provider of on-chain data, recently observed a series of significant Bitcoin transactions carried out by prominent whales just before the flagship digital currency briefly surged to $28,000—a level unseen in the past six weeks.
Subsequently, Bitcoin retreated below the $28,000 mark as these whales initiated substantial transfers of BTC to prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, presumably for selling purposes.
Here’s the sequence of events leading up to Bitcoin’s surge above $28,000:
Santiment identified that just before Bitcoin’s remarkable 5.48% increase to the $28,500 range, whales moved a substantial amount of BTC from exchanges into self-custodian wallets. There were a total of four transfers, with reported values ranging between $187 million and $346 million in Bitcoin.
These transfers led to a decrease in the Bitcoin supply held on exchanges, dropping from 5.99% to 5.73% since September 1. This trend is viewed positively by Santiment’s analytics team, as it indicates a dwindling supply on exchanges. Notably, this level is the lowest since December 2017, a period that preceded Bitcoin’s surge to its all-time high of $20,000.
However, as of now, the world’s leading cryptocurrency has retraced its steps below the $28,000 mark, experiencing a 3.32% loss today.
Bitcoin’s decline coincided with a movement of BTC by whales to major exchanges, as observed by the prominent crypto tracker, Whale Alert:
Whale Alert flagged several Bitcoin transfers involving substantial amounts of BTC being sent to top cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance.
Wallets categorized as “unknown” by the aforementioned tracker moved a total of 9,895 BTC (equivalent to $275,564,475 USD) to Kraken, 2,891 BTC (valued at $80,527,639 USD) to Coinbase, and 799 BTC (worth $22,662,739 USD) to Binance.
This occurrence aligns with Bitcoin’s drop below the $28,000 price threshold, suggesting that significant BTC investors, often referred to as whales in the crypto community, were capitalizing on their profits.
| Event Description | Bitcoin Amount (BTC) | Approximate Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Whales moved BTC from exchanges to self-custodian wallets | Varying amounts | Ranged between $187 million and $346 million |
| Decrease in Bitcoin supply on exchanges | – | Decreased from 5.99% to 5.73% since Sept. 1 |
| Whales moved BTC to top exchanges (Kraken, Coinbase, Binance) | – | 9,895 BTC (Kraken) – $275,564,475 USD, 2,891 BTC (Coinbase) – $80,527,639 USD, 799 BTC (Binance) – $22,662,739 USD |
| Bitcoin’s price decline | – | Dropped by 3.32% today |