The digital asset markets expanded substantially over the first quarter of 2024, catalyzed by an end to the decade-long effort to introduce spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. While Q1 was a turning point in many ways, Q2 kicked off on a turbulent note.
Bitcoin’s plunge below $65K and the substantial decline in altcoins’ market caps is a concerning retracement as April unfolds. Despite this downturn, the crowd sentiment remains resilient.
Crowd Confidence
According to Santiment’s latest analysis, the crowd appears to be displaying confidence in the potential for a swift recovery.
The on-chain analytics firm found that the frequency of words associated with bullish sentiments, such as #buy, #buying, and #bought, are being echoed at approximately double the rate of their bearish counterparts like #sell, #selling, and #sold. Such a trend suggests a heightened optimism among investors.
In fact, Santiment’s historical data indicates that the best opportunities for buying during market dips occur when there’s a sense of uncertainty among investors about potential further declines. This sentiment shift typically sees smaller investors offloading their holdings, allowing larger entities like whales and sharks to capitalize on the market dip.
“Historically, the best dip buy opportunities occur when the crowd consensus is showing a bit of fear toward a further drop. This usually results in small wallets dropping their bags for whales and sharks to scoop them up.”
Whales Brace Themselves Ahead of Halving
Bitcoin witnessed an additional 7% slump over the past day and was currently trading at around $66,000. However, high-profile entities appear to be confident in the leading asset’s trajectory.
Ahead of the halving, several whale entities have been identified for making big BTC transfers. For instance, one dormant address woke up from a slumber after nearly 12 years to move 1,000 BTC valued at over $68 million from Bitfinex to an unknown wallet.
Meanwhile, Dr. Martin Hiesboeck, Head of Research at Uphold, observed that institutions and whales had amassed more than 12,000 BTC, mostly on crypto exchange Coinbase and Kraken, and removed them to the private wallets during Monday’s price plunge. These moves are typically associated with rising optimism among investors, especially during heightened volatility.
During this Monday dump, institutions and whales have bought more than 12,000 $BTC mostly on Coinbase and Kraken and removed them to the private wallets. Small investors keep selling every spike, the big boys buying every wick. That should tell you something.
— Dr Martin Hiesboeck (@MHiesboeck) April 1, 2024
This article first appeared at CryptoPotato