Recent data from Glassnode shows that new buyers, who have held their assets for 24 hours to three months, now own 50% of the market’s value.
This figure tells an important story about the current state of the crypto market, especially as Bitcoin fluctuates around $100,000. The top cryptocurrency experienced big price changes, going up over $105,000 on Sunday, dropping below $98,000 on Monday, and then increasing by 2.04% on Tuesday.
New Whales Make Waves In The Cryptocurrency Ocean
Since mid-2024, the entry of new Bitcoin whales (see CryptoQuant graph below) has significantly changed the market landscape. These heavyweight investors, defined as entities that have held more than 1,000 BTC for less than 155 days, have increased their market share from 17% in July 2024 to 60%.
This increase in whale accumulation, which occurred while Bitcoin was trading at $55,000, demonstrates strong institutional confidence despite market volatility.
At 50.2%, the proportion of wealth held by new #Bitcoin investors (24H to 3 months), is still well below the levels seen during previous ATH cycle tops:
🔺2018 peak: 85%
🔺2021 peak: 74%https://t.co/hkTSpFVAPG pic.twitter.com/6gcOgIIlvM— glassnode (@glassnode) January 28, 2025
Historical Patterns Indicate Potential Upside
Previous market cycle analysis shows that we still have a long way to go till peak euphoria. New investors owned a far larger share of market wealth in the 2018 and 2021 market peaks—85% and 74% respectively.
Today’s more modest 50.2% figure indicates substantial room for growth before matching historical patterns. The Realized Cap HODL Waves metric reinforces this view, suggesting current accumulation levels remain relatively conservative compared to previous bull markets.
Market Structure Demonstrates Surprising Resilience
Cryptocurrency experts say that Bitcoin is currently in a crucial trade area. The digital asset faces strong obstacles near $109,000, but it has solid support at $91,700.
Traders are focusing on these numbers to try to guess the market’s next big change. Market analysts think Bitcoin needs to rise by 70% to reach an overbought level of about $180,000, a goal that has caught the attention of both regular and big investors.
One of the sources of new Bitcoin holders is related to the anonymous gambling feature offered by online crypto casinos, which encourages gamblers to acquire crypto assets in order to play their favourite games, without being exposed.
Critical Support Levels Shape Trading Strategy
The way the market is set presents an interesting duality. Bitcoin stays above vital support levels, but rejection at upper resistance bands has created a turbulent trading zone.
Technical specialist Ali Martinez emphasizes the importance of the $91,700 support level since it can decide the near-term price stability of Bitcoin.
#Bitcoin $BTC was rejected at the upper red pricing band at $109,400. Failing to reclaim this level shifts focus to the next critical support at the orange MVRV pricing band, currently sitting at $91,700. pic.twitter.com/h0EgU11fWO
— Ali (@ali_charts) January 28, 2025
One unique quality of current market phase is short-term volatility; Bitcoin shows significant profits and losses rapidly one after the other.
This unique wealth distribution pattern along with more institutional involvement point to a different course for the present bull market than past cycles.
Compared to past highs, the lesser amount of wealth under control by new investors could suggest a maturing market with better foundations and maybe more sustainable development patterns.
The proportion between new and experienced investors could be crucial in deciding the next major movement of the market as Bitcoin keeps crossing unexplored areas.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
