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Bitcoin Whales Fuel This Month’s Price Jump, Kraken Report Says

Bitcoin Whales Fuel This Month’s Price Jump, Kraken Report Says

The biggest Bitcoin holders are accumulating more of the token and powering its rally, according to a report by the research arm of a crypto exchange.

Holders of 100 Bitcoin or more, so-called whales, and a supply shock drove the increased network activity, Pete Humiston, manager at Kraken Intelligence, wrote in a report. The weekly average holdings of whales rose 0.25% since early October to reach a record $724.4 billion, according to the report. The number of such holders increased 1.6% to 16,156, the highest level since May.

“Larger market participants have grown increasingly more confident, preferring to accumulate further than to take profit,” the report said. “With the number of whales and whale holdings rising, it is clear that whales are a driving force in this latest run-up and remain optimistic.”

Bitcoin Whales Fuel This Month’s Price Jump, Kraken Report Says

Bitcoin has more than quadrupled in the past year and reached a record near $67,000 on Oct. 20 amid optimism around the debut of Bitcoin futures-backed exchange-traded funds in the U.S., and waning concerns about issues like China’s crackdown on the digital-asset space. However, crypto remains extremely volatile, and many experienced market players still regard it with a strong degree of caution.

In addition, market concentration is a concern to some. A recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research said that the top 10,000 investors in Bitcoin hold more than one-third of the cryptocurrency in circulation.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.