Bitcoin whales surge to 2021 levels – Will this lead BTC to a new ATH? 

• Whales have increased to a 3-year high, holding nearly 4 million BTC.  
• Retail holding has seen a slow pace of growth, but will the trend trigger a new ATH? 

Bitcoin [BTC] whales, entities with over 1K coins, have increased in 2024, hitting levels last seen in early 2021, just before the asset exploded to a last cycle high of $69K. 

According to Glassnode data, the whale entities were over 1660 as of the 23rd of October.

Reacting to the hike in large BTC investors, Andre Dragosch, Bitwise’s head of research, wondered whether it could signal a likely new all-time high (ATH). 

“Total number of #Bitcoin whales just reached the highest level since Jan 2021! New ATHs incoming?”

Source: Glassnode

For context, in 2020, whales increased from 1650 to over 1760. Afterward, BTC pumped to a new ATH the following year.

Whales eyes 4 million BTC

Source: CryptoQuant

According to CryptoQuant, whales’ total holdings stood at 3.9 million BTC as of press time.

That’s a whopping $261 billion, nearly 20% of BTC’s market size. Since mid-2023, the whale entities have added about 670K BTC. 

However, not all whale cohorts were heavily accumulating. According to Santiment data, those holding 100K — 1 million BTC fronted aggressive accumulation in 2024. However, those with 1K -10K BTC have reduced their exposure. 

Source: Santiment

But overall, whales have added more BTC than their retail counterparts, noted CryptoQuant analysts. They stated, 

“Since the start of 2024, the holdings of other larger investors (1-10K BTC holders) have grown faster than the holdings of retail investors on a yearly basis. As of today, retail holdings have grown by 30K Bitcoin, compared to 173K Bitcoin of other larger investors.” 

Santiment data revealed that those who held less than 10 BTC had seen a slow pace of growth in the past few months. 

However, those with 100 to 1000 BTC have increased their positions and market dominance from 19% to 20%. 

Source: Santiment

Despite the slow pace of growth of the BTC retail stash, the overall trend has been skewed toward a holding strategy, as seen by the surge in BTC accumulation balances. 

Analysts have viewed the above trends as positive catalysts for BTC’s likely new ATH attempt, but that remains to be seen.