While the United States’ first spot Bitcoin ETF awaits potential approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the crypto market anticipates a decision, prompting activity among crypto whales. Spot On Chain, an on-chain data provider, reported that two anonymous crypto whales purchased 1,755 BTC worth $77.1 million from Binance in the last two days.
Crypto Whales Gathering Bitcoin
Following reports that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, is competing to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US and expects approval by January 10th, it was discovered that two crypto whales bought 1,755 BTC worth $77.1 million from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in the last two days.
The first crypto whale accumulated 1,750 BTC worth $76.9 million at an average price of $43,953 from an anonymous wallet address starting with bc1pj… The whale profited $26.4 million from this transaction. Currently, the whale’s wallet address holds 4,750 BTC valued at $207 million.
The second crypto whale recently purchased 5 BTC worth $217,000 at $43,426 from a wallet address starting with 3MVqp…, likely as a test buy. Spot On Chain noted that the crypto whale might purchase more BTC. Meanwhile, on-chain data reveals that the whale has bought and sold Bitcoin three times in 2023, profiting from each transaction. The data shows that the whale made a cumulative profit of $61 million from these three trades.
Experts’ Expectations Following the Spot Bitcoin ETF
There are varying opinions on the potential approval of the US’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, with some expecting it to trigger a bull market and others anticipating a “buy the rumor, sell the news” scenario. The bullish outlook is based on increased individual and institutional demand for Bitcoin through regulated spot ETFs and a decrease in Bitcoin supply due to the fourth block reward halving.
Owen Lau from Oppenheimer highlighted that the fund flows into the approved ETFs will be a significant signal for the market, and initial weak flows could create selling pressure on Bitcoin’s price. Bitwise pointed out a survey indicating that only 39% of financial advisors expect an ETF to be launched this year, but 88% believe its approval would be a significant catalyst.
Tyrone Ross, CEO of Acheson and Onramp Invest, thinks that while the initial market reaction to the ETF might be disappointing, the situation could become interesting in the medium to long term as financial advisors gain more knowledge about the crypto asset class. Worthington from JPMorgan mentioned that the rally could be supported by high activity, volume, and prices if the anticipation of spot crypto ETFs, especially spot Bitcoin ETFs, continues.
