Bitcoin Whales and Retail Investors Head in Opposite Directions

Bitcoin retail investors are snapping up Bitcoin as whales sell off, a pattern that could signal trouble for the assetโ€™s price if history is any guide, according to sentiment platform Santiment.

However, other crypto analysts are divided on how the coming weeks will unfold for Bitcoin (BTC).

โ€œHistorically, prices tend to follow the direction of the whales, not retail,โ€ Santiment said in a markets report on Saturday.

Bitcoin retail traders (red line) have been increasingly buying the Bitcoin price dip as whales (green line) have been selling off. Source: Santiment

Santiment pointed out that since Oct. 12, Bitcoin whales โ€” wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC โ€” have sold approximately 32,500 Bitcoin. However, Santiment added that โ€œsmall retail wallets have been aggressively buying the dip.โ€

Bitcoinโ€™s split among the cohorts is a โ€œcautionary signal,โ€ says Santiment

During that time, Bitcoin fell from $115,000 to $98,000 on Nov. 4, representing a decline of around 15%, according to CoinMarketCap. BTCโ€™s price has since recovered to $103,780 at the time of publication.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin is down 15.85% over the past 30 days. Source: CoinMarketCap

Santiment described it as a โ€œmajor divergence has appeared between large and small investors.โ€ Santiment said:

โ€œA divergence where whales are selling while retail is buying can be a cautionary signal.โ€

Other analysts are divided on how the coming weeks will play out for Bitcoin.

Bitfinex analysts told Cointelegraph that they expect near-term consolidation and some volatility, rather than โ€œa clear sprint to new highs.โ€

โ€œWe believe ETF inflows earlier in October pushed the price to around $125,000, before mid-month macro shocks, a major options expiry, and profit-taking knocked it back into the high $100,000s,โ€ the analysts said.ย 

On Friday, spot Bitcoin ETFs broke a six-day outflow streak that saw $2.04 billion in outflows, according to Farside.

Bitcoin has a chance of climbing to $130,000 if conditions improve: Analysts

They explained that if spot Bitcoin ETF inflows return to delivering above $1 billion inflows per week and macro conditions improve, Bitcoin may have a chance to climb toward $130,000.

Related: Bitcoin crisscrosses $100K as BTC price โ€˜bottoming phaseโ€™ begins

Meanwhile, Nansen senior research analyst Jake Kennis told Cointelegraph that although Bitcoin has historically posted year-over-year gains, โ€œthe recent liquidation and breakdown in market structure make it far less probable in the near term.โ€

โ€œThat said, thereโ€™s still room for meaningful upside into year-end,โ€ Kennis said, explaining that a new all-time highs are still possible for Bitcoin this year if momentum does โ€œshift decisively.โ€

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