Whales are continuing to accumulate Bitcoin (BTC) despite the price more than doubling so far in 2021, according to the latest data from CryptoQuant.
This trend indicates that the confidence in Bitcoin is strengthening as the price is now attempting to stabilize above the $50,000 level.
Why whale confidence is important
During bull cycles, whales can take profit on their positions, especially if the futures market is highly overcrowded.
Whales selling their holdings to rebalance their portfolios can cause massive price swings in the market, especially when accompanied by cascading liquidations.
In this bull cycle, on-chain data show that whales are buying Bitcoin rather than selling it, likely in anticipation of more upside in the future.
Ki Young Ju, CEO at CryptoQuant, said:
"Whales accumulating $BTC. They are making a lot of bear traps lately, but the price seems to recover the institutional buying level, 48k. Looking at recent Coinbase outflows, most of the outflows that went to custody wallets were at 48k price."
Whales or high-net-worth investors might be accumulating Bitcoin rather than taking profit on their positions because they might believe a supercycle might be emerging.
Bitcoin has not had this much institutional interest prior to the current bull cycle, particularly coming from public companies and financial institutions.
Bitcoin is becoming highly compelling in an environment where the continuous expansion of the money supply by central banks is forcing some companies to look for alternatives to cash.
Additionally, William Clemente, a pseudonymous analyst, also points out that accumulation addresses are increasing, indicating another "wave" of accumulation.
Macro factors are aligned for a Bitcoin rally
As Fundstrat's Leeor Shimron explains, Bitcoin still has a lot of room to run when priced by the M1 money stock.
Shimron said the Bitcoin cycle could "get very wild," suggesting that BTC is far away from reaching a potential top.
"Bitcoin priced in the M1 money stock still very far from its ATH. In the face of unprecedented money printing, the bull market may just be getting started. This cycle could get very wild."
There are several other metrics that suggest a Bitcoin top is likely far from being reached in the near term.
For instance, the SOPR indicator, which measures the profit-taking activity of investors, shows that many investors already took profit on their positions.
In the foreseeable future, this could reduce significant selling pressure on Bitcoin, which coincides with whales continuing to buy up the circulating supply of Bitcoin.
Raoul Pal, the CEO of Real Vision Group, shared a similar sentiment. He said that Bitcoin would suck up most of the world's capital over time. He said:
"But It really suggests that technology investments and above all, Bitcoin (and my guess ALL digital assets) are going to continue to suck in all the worlds capital, over time, as people realise it is the most efficient way to generate wealth over and above their store of value."