With the price of Bitcoin surpassing $64,000 on February 28, market indicators indicate that a rise to a new all-time high above $70,000 is imminent.
Bitcoin (BTC) made headlines again on February 28 when its price surged to a daily high of $64,000, the highest in 830 days. With whale investment indicators still flashing green signals, a new all-time high for the pioneering cryptocurrency could be on the cards.
Bitcoin Whale in Firm Control: Holds 60% of Total Supply
The approval of the Bitcoin ETF was undoubtedly a real watershed moment for the cryptocurrency sector. As of press time on February 28, the overall market capitalization of the cryptocurrency industry had surged $450 billion, reaching a three-year high of $2.25 trillion.
The boom in inflows into the cryptocurrency sector was driven by record demand for 10 newly launched Bitcoin ETFs, which collectively acquired more than 665,850 BTC, worth about $40 billion, within six weeks of trading.
However, a closer look at the on-chain data shows that in addition to ETF holdings, a wide range of large corporations and high-net-worth investors have jumped headfirst into the BTC market. The legitimacy provided by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval verdict has been pivotal to this trend.
The Santiment chart shows the historical trend of the Bitcoin balance held in the whale wallet with a minimum of 100 BTC, approximately $600,000. The chart shows that between May 2022 and January 2023, the whale quickly offloaded 500,000 BTC from its holdings.
This period coincided with the collapse of TerraUST and FTX in 2022, which reflected serious instances of corporate governance and internal control failures.
Whales then began repurchasing BTC after the SEC confirmed BlackRock’s official Bitcoin filing around September 2023.
In addition to the SEC’s implicit co-signature, the resilience shown by groups like MicroStrategy and sovereign governments seen in El Salvador and the Central African Republic in recent years has strengthened corporate confidence in Bitcoin.
At the time of writing on February 28th, whales currently hold 11.7 million BTC worth approximately $714 billion, representing 60% of the total supply currently in circulation, the highest in over two years.
Large institutional investors are known to have longer investment horizons than short-term retail swing traders. The tendency to accumulate and hold large amounts of BTC effectively reduces the available supply in the market, creating scarcity and putting upward pressure on the price.
Therefore, by controlling a significant portion of the market supply, a resurgent Bitcoin whale is likely to push the Bitcoin price to all-time highs above $70,000 in the coming weeks.
Price Prediction: Could Bitcoin Reach $70,000 by March 2024?
At the time of writing on February 28th, BTC is currently trading at $59,141. If the buying trend of Bitcoin whales continues in March 2024, the BTC price rally is likely to advance towards $70,000.
However, looking at historical cumulative trends, BTC appears to be facing strong resistance around $62,400.
Deposit and withdrawal data from IntoTheBlock shows that 326,790 addresses acquired 94,990 BTC at prices up to $62,424. Those investors have been suffering losses since November 2021, so many investors could be forced out once the price of BTC equalizes.
If the bulls can overcome the selling wall, as expected, it could generate stronger bullish momentum towards a new all-time high above $70,000.
Alternatively, bears could take over the market if there is a sharp drop below $55,000. However, this currently appears to be a tall order considering the upcoming support buywall mounted in the $57,360 region.