- A focus on short-term profit-taking has negatively impacted Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin may still not be out of limbo, despite the resurgence of bullish momentum.
There has been a psychological barrier to Bitcoin’s movement [BTC] the past weeks. The May 27 Glassnode data offered some insight into the impact of long-term transfer volumes on prices.
Read about Bitcoin [BTC] Price Forecast 2023-24
The Glassnode analysis found that transfer volumes by long-term profit holders have increased. In other words, there has been an increase in selling pressure from Bitcoin holders in earnings over the past few months.
The transfer volume sent by long-term holders in Profit has registered a significant increase YTD, from $25 million to $489 million, an increase of nearly 2000%.
However, the profitable transfer volume remains $1.24 billion (-71.4%) below the $1.74 billion peak experienced during the 2021 bull market.
pic.twitter.com/bAoPzsIgdo
— glassnode (@glassnode) May 27, 2023
The sharp increase confirmed that Bitcoin holders have been taking profits. This explains why it has been harder for Bitcoin to maintain its upward momentum above the $28,000 price level. The analysis further looked at the demographics that contributed to the above observation.
The Glassnode data also revealed that holders who bought BTC in the past 6 to 12 months contributed the most to the selling pressure. These findings mirror previous market observations, which revealed a shift from long-term gains to short-term gains.
How long until another transition to a long-term focus?
Interestingly, some on-chain data indicated that whales have been buying despite the increase in profit-taking. The main point to note is the timing of their accumulation. Addresses with at least 1000 BTC are buying after short-term selling pressure and offloading after small profits.
Source: Sentiment
A comparison with futures open interest revealed an inverse relationship. It seems whales have piled up whenever Open Interest starts to fall and sell when Open Interest starts to rise.
One possible explanation is that whales bought with low leverage and sold again when demand for derivatives soared. Such cases are usually supported by higher leverage and possible liquidations.
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Where is Bitcoin Going?
Bitcoin’s press price is also noteworthy as it marked the third consecutive day that it moved in one direction. The bullish performance over the past three days suggested that the bulls have strengthened over the weekend. But could this outcome be a sign of what to expect this week?
BTC changed hands for $27,161 at the time of writing. However, it still traded within the narrow range in which it was restricted for the past two weeks. This meant that the latter benefit was not a clear indication that a breakout was in the making. In fact, a resurgence of selling pressure seemed more likely as the RSI neared its midpoint.
