- Whale wallets surge to a six-year high as crypto market consolidates
- Big Bitcoin holders have added more than $12 billion worth of BTC in June
- Recent whale activity suggests a phase of accumulation toward big wallets
Whale Wallets Hit Six-Year High in BTC Reserves
Bitcoin holders who own at least 10,000 BTC each—so-called whale wallets—have surged to their highest level in six years. An aggressive rush toward accumulation in June saw these big players add more than $12 billion worth of crypto to their ownership. Pulling more than 212,000 BTC across the whale wallets suggests a monster buying spree amid a tumbling market.
Accounts held 3.19 million coins, each carrying at least 10,000 tokens — a high not seen since 2018. In other words, just about when the first wave of heavy buying momentum swept global markets, cryptocurrency carved out a name for itself.
Trip Down Memory Lane
This was also when big institutional investors got jealous over retail traders’ outsized returns. Bitcoin shot up to highs near $20,000 — a level that now needs to see current prices drop more than 60% to match.
Back to the present day, digital assets endured a rough patch in June. But these big holders were unfazed. It must be noted that, instead of selling, they went bargain hunting while the retail segment of the crypto market was selling. The $12 billion was spent scooping up discounted Bitcoin tokens.
June Market Swings
The price of the leading crypto asset hovered around $60,000 throughout June. That is a roughly 20% drop from Bitcoin’s record high of more than $73,000 earlier this year.
Against this backdrop, the big buyers remain optimistic that bright prospects ahead will keep supporting the upside narrative in Bitcoin prices. The price of the original digital asset floats near $55,000 to kick off weekly trading.
Mt. Gox Readies Big Pay Day
A cautiously optimistic tone has settled as crypto enthusiasts hold their breath over a key development in the industry. Mt. Gox, the leading exchange 10 years ago, has returned from bankruptcy to repay some tokens to some fortunate users.
140,000 BTC Recovered
In 2014, the Tokyo-based trading platform went defunct and said that its Bitcoin liquidity had been stolen. More than 950,000 BTC disappeared. And while a single Bitcoin during that time was going for roughly $300, at today’s prices, that lofty number is worth nearly $60 billion. The good news is that 140,000 of these Bitcoins have been recovered. A trustee will now carry on a procedure of repaying the coins to a select group of users who can prove their investments from 10 years ago.
The repay operation is likely to affect Bitcoin prices if those nouveau riche users decide to dump their tokens, dragging the broader market. Still, that amount is equal to about 0.7% of all Bitcoin in circulation—a total of 19.7 million. With that in mind, the psychological reaction will likely impact the general crypto market mood more.
