With Bitcoin Whales Accumulating, Can BTC Price Recover Above $20,000?

Key Insights:

• Bitcoin price fell below the psychological support at $20,000.
• BTC’s price fall led to larger market sell-offs as the global market cap tested the $850 billion mark.
• While minor accumulation trends still spark optimism in the market, positive momentum still lacks catalysts for a solid recovery.

As the second financial quarter of 2022 ends, the global crypto market remains largely bearish, with a majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies trading in red on their daily charts.

The top cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), recently governed further market losses as BTC’s price fell below the psychological support zone at the $20,000 mark.

Bitcoin’s price fall on 29 June can be considered a significant move in the coin’s trajectory as it wiped out the short-term gains made by the king coin throughout the week.

Now, the crucial question remains whether a massive pullback awaits the market or will minor setbacks lead the way to an eventual recovery?

Support At $20,000

Bitcoin retested the $19,000 level in Asian afternoon hours after central bankers renewed inflation warnings at the European Central Bank’s (ECB) annual forum on 28 June. At press time, the king crypto traded at $19,068, noting 4.62% daily losses and close to 8% losses on the weekly chart.

With the recent pullback in play, BTC is on track for a record 40% monthly decline. The traditional market also reacted negatively to Jerome Powell’s comments at the ECB meeting. Notably, the US equity market futures declined as S&P 500 futures lost 1.59% while Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9%.

Bitcoin was down by over 55% this year alone and has fallen more than 70% from its all-time high of $68,990.90 made in November last year. Over the last month, the $20,000 mark has acted as a critical support for the top asset.

After bitcoin’s price fell below the $22,800 support/resistance line, its price has moved in a rangebound trajectory with the $19,000 mark as support. The $19,000 level has acted as a solid long-term support.

Market analysts are of the opinion that the next price retracement could take BTC to the lower support level at the $12,000 mark. This, however, hasn’t deterred some cohorts from entering the market.

Bitcoin Whales and Shrimps Still Stacking

The buy the dip sentiment often echoes strongly when BTC price takes a big dip. However, during long-drawn periods of consolidation, participants are generally cautious about entering the market.

Recent Glassnode data highlighted a peculiar trend that Shrimps holding less than one BTC are stacking. Interestingly, whales or BTC holders with over 1K $BTC are also stacking up sats. On the other hand, miners were distributing.

Notably, small bitcoin holders or Shrimps have been adding to their balance at the most aggressive rate since March 2020. Shrimps are adding at 36.75K BTC/month, which is 0.2% of the circulating supply and 1.36x monthly issuance. This cohort now holds 1.12 million $BTC in total.

Whales are also adding to their balance aggressively, acquiring 140K $BTC/month directly from exchanges. On the other hand, bitcoin miners, who have been under immense income stress of late, are in distribution mode. Excluding Patoshi and Unknown miners (balance is flat), miners hold 65.2K $BTC in aggregate and are distributing 3K to 4K $BTC/month.

So, with Shrimps and Whales still accumulating, can BTC price see some gains? Well, for bitcoin’s price to recover, a price uptick above the crucial $19,500 and $22,000 support/resistance mark would be crucial in the short term.

However, with extreme macro-market conditions, it’s best to sit tight and watch the market unfold and, most importantly – Do Your Own Research (DYOR).