Bitcoin Whale-Retail Divergence Sparks Overheating Concerns
The price of Bitcoin has been hovering around $80,000, but a growing divergence between large holders and smaller retail traders is sparking concerns about overheating. According to data from analytics firm Santiment, wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have trimmed their combined balances by roughly 0.20% over the past three weeks.
During this same period, addresses containing less than 0.01 BTC, a proxy for retail participants, added approximately 0.09% to their holdings. This divergence began around August 23, when Bitcoin pushed above $80,000 and market sentiment shifted rapidly from caution toward what Santiment describes as 'chase mode.'
The data shows that larger investors have been reducing their exposure to Bitcoin while smaller traders are accumulating more of the cryptocurrency.