Bitcoin ‘sharks’ add 65K BTC in a week in key demand rebound

Key points:

• Bitcoin “shark” wallets have started buying the dip, adding 65,000 BTC to their holdings in just seven days.

• Short-term holders also cross a milestone, with the profit ratio of coins moving onchain flipping positive.

• Long-term holders have yet to return to net accumulation.

Bitcoin (BTC) “conviction-driven” holders have bought 65,000 BTC in just seven days as price bounces from two-month lows.

New research from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant released Thursday shows Bitcoin “sharks” buying the dip.

Bitcoin’s big players rethink distribution

Bitcoin wallets with a balance between 100 BTC and 1,000 BTC have wasted no time bagging coins at lower prices.

CryptoQuant data shows that in a single week, these “sharks” added 65,000 BTC of net market exposure.

“Bitcoin’s recent market action highlights a sharp divide between short-term traders and larger, conviction-driven buyers. Addresses holding 100–1,000 BTC—known as ‘sharks’—have added 65,000 BTC in just seven days, lifting their total to a record 3.65 million BTC,” contributor XWIN Research Japan wrote in one of its Quicktake blog posts.

“This buying has emerged even as spot prices hovered near $112,000, suggesting a growing disconnect between retail-driven volatility and deeper structural demand.”

Bitcoin UTXOs by value. Source: CryptoQuant

XWIN referred to knee-jerk reactions to BTC price volatility from the Bitcoin speculative trader base, or short-term holders (STHs) — wallets hodling for six months or less.

CryptoQuant data shows the spent output profit ratio (SOPR) of these investors only just beginning to flip positive on Friday, after a nearly month-long period in which STH coins were moving onchain at a loss.

Bitcoin STH-SOPR. Source: CryptoQuant

Predicting the next “strong leg up” for BTC

XWIN observed declining exchange balances as proof of buyer demand at current prices.

Related: Bitcoin price can hit $160K in October as MACD golden cross returns

“Net outflows—BTC withdrawn from exchanges—have dominated recently, signaling that investors are moving coins into cold storage rather than keeping them liquid for trading,” it wrote.

While more BTC price corrections “remain possible” in the future, the market structure thus appears strong.

“Beneath surface volatility, the groundwork for Bitcoin’s next strong leg upward appears to be forming,” XWIN concluded.

The situation among some BTC investor cohorts is nonetheless precarious. As Cointelegraph reported, whales and long-term holders echoed the 2022 bear market with their selling habits through August.

CryptoQuant shows that LTH wallet balances have yet to recover, with the rolling 30-day balance change still being negative.

Bitcoin LTH 30-day net position change. Source: CryptoQuant

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.