The number of whales on the Bitcoin ($BTC) network, defined as wallet addresses that hold 1,000 or more BTC, has dropped to its lowest level since August 2019, at a time in which the price of the flagship cryptocurrency seems to be recovering from last year’s plunge.
According to data from crypto analytics firm Glassnode, first spotted by Decrypt, there were 2,027 whale addresses on February 19, down from a peak of around 2,500 whale wallets in February 2021, when the price of the flagship cryptocurrency was close to the $50,000 mark.
This week’s whale numbers are the lowest since August 5, 2019, when there were 2,023 whale addresses on the cryptocurrency’s network. Back then, BTC’s price was slightly above $11,000, after recovering from a year-long bear market that saw its value decline over 80% from a high near $20,000.
While the number of whales on the network has been dropping, the number of so-called mega whales, or addresses with 10,000 or more $BTC in the wallets, has kept on growing and is now at 117. Its historical all-time high was of 126 in October 2018, during the bear market.
When it comes to smaller addresses, those holding 1 BTC or more have been gradually rising over time, despite enduring a few dips from time to time. There are now over 980,000 wallets holding more than 1 BTC on the blockchain, up from around 814,000 a year ago.
As CryptoGlobe reported, a popular cryptocurrency trader and analyst who accurately called the May 2021 market crash has recently suggested that Bitcoin’sprice has already bottomed out and that its momentum suggests a rally is incoming.
The trader looked at BTC’s monthly moving average convergence divergence (MACD) to point out the cryptocurrency is getting ready to rally.
The MACD is a trend indicator that measures the difference between an asset’s 12-day and 26-day moving averages t form a line used to identify signals to both buy and sell. It’s an oscillator, which means it fluctuates above and below a central line.
Earlier, the head of $4.1 billion cryptocurrency hedge fund Pantera Capital, Dan Morehead, has predicted this year will be one where trust in the space is rebuilt, and that Bitcoin is now entering its “seventh bull cycle.”
