Is Bitcoin on the Road to $100K? Whale Accumulation Surge Since ETF Launch

Bitcoin addresses holding over 1,000 BTC (usually called whales) have collectively increased their holdings by 250,000 BTC since the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

According to data from IntoTheBlock, the surge in accumulation brought whale holdings back near pre-FTX crash levels, raising eyebrows among investors and analysts.

The amount of Bitcoin held by addresses with over 1k BTC has increased by 250k BTC since the launch of the ETFs and is now back near the levels it was before the FTX collapse pic.twitter.com/Ge41ICTeEJ

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) May 18, 2024

Potential Rally?

The accumulation suggests that BTC could be gearing up for a potential bullish run, given that whales are pouring more of the digital asset into their portfolios to speculate on a price rally in the coming months.

BTC has been experiencing a consolidation pattern since hitting a new all-time high (ATH) of nearly $74,000 in March. The flagship cryptocurrency has been trading between $60,000 and $70,000 since then. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $67,134, representing a 1% decline on the day.

Bitcoin spot ETFs have been one of the main catalysts impacting the price performance of the digital asset. For instance, when the financial products recorded consecutive inflows shortly after their launch, BTC rallied and broke new highs multiple times. On the other hand, the original cryptocurrency struggled after the ETFs started experiencing outflows.

Consecutive Inflows 

Bitcoin spot ETFs received consecutive inflows over the past week, indicating investors increased demand and optimism for BTC. 

On Friday, May 17, the ETFs collectively received approximately $222 million. Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) led the pack with $99.4 million. Trailing FBTC is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) with $38.1 million. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has already recorded inflows for consecutive trading days, also recorded positive inflows. The inflows helped increase the price of BTC by 10% on that day.

With more positive inflows into the products, BTC could be heading towards the $100,000 price, as analysts predicted.