Whale Inflows Explode While Daily Demand Stalls – Bitcoin’s Next Big Move?

Whales are loading up – but retail's hesitating. Here's why it matters.

While institutional giants quietly accumulate BTC at levels not seen since the 2024 halving, daily on-chain inflows show unexpected weakness. This divergence spells either a coiled spring or a trapdoor.

Smart money's betting on scarcity

Whale wallets (1k+ BTC) grew 3.2% this month despite flat price action – a classic accumulation pattern. Meanwhile, exchanges saw net outflows for 11 consecutive days. Someone's preparing for something big.

Retail traders miss the memo

Daily deposits to centralized platforms dipped 18% week-over-week. The 'dumb money' crowd seems distracted by shiny new altcoins – just like they were before Bitcoin's 2021 parabolic rally.

What happens next?

History shows these conditions precede violent moves. With the Fed still printing inflation excuses and Wall Street's 'dry powder' reserves at ATHs, the stage is set. Whether that means $100k or another 'max pain' flush remains to be seen. After all, traditional markets need their quarterly sacrifice to the volatility gods.

Whale Activity Spikes

Upon focusing on monthly average BTC inflows to reduce noise, CryptoQuant found that during the last two market tops, whale inflows to crypto exchanges surpassed $75 billion. This triggered correction or consolidation phases.

Currently, the monthly average has risen sharply by nearly $17 billion after climbing from $28 billion to $45 billion between July 14 and 18. The increase likely reflects the recent 80,000 BTC movement while indicating that whales have used Bitcoin’s new all-time high to secure profits.

However, a quick look at daily inflows now shows a clear decline, a development that CryptoQuant thinks should be monitored closely. If this declining trend in daily inflows continues, it could ease overall selling pressure in the market, as whale activity has historically exerted significant influence during previous tops.

While the current inflow level remains below the previous peak levels that triggered corrections, the recent rise suggests whales are active.

Path Forward

The macro environment is another factor to consider for BTC’s trajectory in the coming days. However, economic events such as US housing data, PMIs, and durable goods orders are unlikely to significantly impact high-risk assets like Bitcoin this week.

Moreover, futures markets predict the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming July 30 meeting. Such a MOVE is expected to reduce immediate macroeconomic pressure on crypto markets.

Broader crypto market capitalization has pulled back slightly from a $4 trillion peak but remains up by over 17% year-to-date. The risk sentiment could transform as major tech earnings reports arrive this week, which, in turn, could influence the leading crypto asset’s price action.

While markets assess Bitcoin’s next move, not all voices remain bullish at these price levels. In fact, Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” warned on Monday that Bitcoin, along with Gold and silver, could face a sharp decline if current “bubbles” burst. Kiyosaki stated that he plans to buy these assets only after such a correction.

Previously, he advised caution to avoid overinvesting and said that “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.”