Large Bitcoin Holders Added $5.4B in BTC in July, Data Show (2024)

In a display of confidence, large bitcoin (BTC) holders, often adept at timing market moves, boosted their coin stash in July at the fastest pace in years, capitalizing on the two-way price volatility.

Large holders, or addresses owning at least 0.1% of BTC's circulating supply, snapped up over 84K BTC, worth $5.4 billion at the current market price, according to data tracked by blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock and TradingView. That's the biggest single-month tally in BTC terms since October 2014.

The accumulation was characterized by bargain hunting during the early July price dip to under $55,000 and brief pauses in the subsequent recovery to $69,000. BTC ended July with a meager 3% gain, according to CoinDesk data.

The strategic accumulation likely indicates a strong belief that the prolonged consolidation phase between $50,000 and $70,000 will eventually end with a bullish breakout, extending the initial rally from $16,000.

Analysts are optimistic about bitcoin's price prospects.

"A rate cut in September, would provide a sense of bullishness and could generally increase liquidity in the market, which will be positive for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as investors seek higher returns outside traditional assets. This could lead to upward pressure on Bitcoin's price and increased ETF inflows as investors look to capitalize on a more favorable environment for risk assets," Jag Kooner, Head of Derivatives at Bitfinex said in an email.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that interest rates could be cut as soon as September, emphasizing that the economic data needs to back up the potential renewed liquidity easing. The central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady in the 5.25%-5.50% range, maintaining a status quo as expected.

"The Fed has been striving for a 'soft landing,' and if the data allows them to cut, and it is certainly moving in that direction relative to their forecasts, then we think they will seize the opportunity. We expect officials to start moving monetary policy from 'restrictive' territory to "slightly less" restrictive policy from September with additional cuts in November and December," ING said in a daily note to clients.

The bullish sentiment also stems from renewed capital inflows via stablecoins or digital assets with values pegged to external references like the U.S. dollar.

Per CCData, the total market capitalization of stablecoins rose 2.11% to $164 billion in July, the highest since April 2022. "This is the highest monthly rise in the stablecoins market capitalization since April, suggesting inflows of new capital into the markets as reflected by the positive price action of digital assets in July," CCData said in a report shared with CoinDesk.

Kooner said the diminishing impact of negative news is assuring to the bulls.

"There is a lot of confidence in the market at the moment particularly as even potentially negative news like the Mt. Gox Distribution, German Government selling and a lot of recent significant on Chain movements have not been able to substantially impact the Bitcoin price to the downside," Kooner said.