Whales and Hot Money Drive Bitcoin Rally
The recent Bitcoin rally has been driven by both large and small holders, according to on-chain analysis. From August 1 to August 30, wallets holding 100 BTC or more added approximately 60,000 BTC to their holdings. Meanwhile, wallets with 1-100 BTC sold around 33,000 BTC, while those holding less than 1 BTC offloaded roughly 14,000 BTC.
The large-wallet buying accelerated as Bitcoin broke higher, rather than being concentrated around the lows. Bigger holders absorbed supply as smaller investors used the rally to exit. This accumulation indicates that August's move was not simply a leverage-driven chase, contrary to some theories.
CryptoQuant has noted that if these large wallets return their accumulated 60,000 BTC to the market while Bitcoin struggles below $80,000, it would weaken the absorption thesis. Michael Nadeau of The DeFi Report pointed out another on-chain development that warrants caution: nearly 2% of Bitcoin's supply has moved from holders with a cost basis between $56,000 and $66,000 into higher-cost-basis cohorts.