Bitcoin 'whales' and 'fishes' pause accumulation as markets weigh March 50bps hike odds
An uptick in Bitcoin (BTC) supply to whales' addresses witnessed across January appears to be stalling midway as the price continues its intraday correction toward $42,000, the latest data from CoinMetrics shows.
The sum of Bitcoin being held in addresses whose balance was at least 1,000 BTC came to be 8.10 million BTC as of Feb. 16, almost 0.12% higher month-to-date. In comparison, the balance was 7.91 million BTC at the beginning of this year, up 2.4% year-to-date.
Notably, the accumulation behavior among Bitcoin's richest wallets started slowing down after BTC closed above $40,000 in early February. Their supply fluctuated within the 8.09-8.10 million BTC range as Bitcoin did the same between $41,000 and $45,500, signaling that demand from whales has been subsiding inside the said trading area.
A similar outlook appeared in addresses that hold less than 1 BTC, also called "fishes," showcasing that they had halted the accumulation of Bitcoin in February as its price entered the $41,000-45,500 price range.
Looks like the accumulation trend is stalling with #BTC around $44k: No breakout for the whales addresses. Plateau for the small fish.I guess everyone is cautious while waiting to see what the FOMC will do next. pic.twitter.com/Ou8w1t7U5m
Ecoinometrics' analyst Nick blamed the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening plans for making Bitcoin whales and fishes "cautious," reiterating his statements from last week, wherein he warned that "if Bitcoin has greatly benefited from quantitative easing, it can also be hurt by quantitative tightening."
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee released the minutes of its January meeting, revealing a group of thoroughly alarmed central bank governors looking more prepared to
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