• After reaching the all-time high at $58,300 on Tuesday, the price dropped to $45,393
• The Coinbase Premium effect shows that the whales are accumulating BTC, which indicates the bullish value
• Institutional holding of BTC through Grayscale has increased in 2021
The price of Bitcoin has been volatile and is still fluctuating since the flash crash on Monday. After setting an all-time high record of $58,300, Bitcoin’s price dived with a price drop of about $7000. According to Tradingview, citing Coinbase prices, during Tuesday morning’s Asian trading session, BTC crashed to $46,800.
Some hours after the drop on February 22, it reclaimed its value and rose to $53,000. However, on Tuesday, the BTC value touched the low price of $45,393 when bears were in command. At the time of writing, this BTC values $48,346. This might be linked to the US Treasury’s claims that Bitcoin is inefficient and gives rise to criminal activities. There has bin recovery, but it is still 17% down from the all-time high.
Coinbase Premium Plan
Whales are more likely to manipulate the market. Coinbase, the US crypto exchange giant, on February 17, stated that it joined the staking party for Ethereum 2.0. Though Coinbase was two months late than its competitors like Binance and Kraken, it offered a waiting list with several crypto rewards.
Coinbase is known to have a premium where the prices are different, which shows the gap between Coinbase Pro USD and Binance price in Tether. The higher is the premium, the higher the chances that the Coinbase whales are accumulating the BTC despite the high value.
According to CryptoQuant data, the Coinbase premium hit rock bottom of -$1020 and escalated to +$486. The CEO of CryptoQuant, Ki-Young Ju, remarked that it is the Coinbase whales driving the market, and they are accumulating BTC in the 44-48k range. Also that it is unlikely to go below 44k. It can be true as when the more the whales accumulate, the bullish the value.
CryptoQuant data also shows that when the BTC price broke $20k, the Coinbase premium went up to $+77. It reached a high of +$160 when BTC first topped $30k and $174 when it reached $40k.
Bitcoin Holding By Major Institutions
As bitcoin is becoming a more and more popular asset, Institutional investors hold the Bitcoin and are keeping it as an alternative gold. They are keeping the asset as an inflation hedge. Many US institutions are buying through Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and make GBTC premium, which indicates a bullish market.
In the current Bitcoin landscape, institutions holding bitcoin should not come as a surprise. Grayscale’s CEO even stated that the demand for the asset by the institutions had been accelerated in 2021.
Even though the Bitcoin falls from $50k, the indications from institutional holding and Coinbase premium shows that fall will be higher from the previous low.