Between rising inflation, fears of a recession, the return of Covid, the war in Ukraine, and relentless supply chain disruptions, global markets are scared and on the defensive.
This has also been reflected in the Bitcoin (opens in a new tab) blockchain, whose activity has “moderately decreased” in recent weeks, according to a new report from Glassnode. The on-chain market information company says activity on the network is now at levels similar to those seen during the "deeper bear phase" in 2018 and 2019.
“It appears that there has been an almost complete purge of market tourism,” Glassnode said in a report (opens in a new tab).
Whales and shrimp continue to accumulate
But the decline in blockchain activity is not the only argument that the "casual" has left the cryptocurrency market almost entirely. He also says that hardcore Bitcoin fans remain confident as exchange balances are depleting at “historically high levels” while shrimp and whales are increasing their positions “significantly”.
"Whales" are entities (individuals or companies) that have large holdings in bitcoin, while "shrimps" are those who strive to become whales.
This year, the cryptocurrency market went through a full-fledged crypto winter. The bear market is in full swing. Since November 2021, when the price of Bitcoin hit an all-time high of around €69,000, it has only been going downhill ever since.
At one point, the price recorded eight consecutive weeks of price declines, which had never happened in the history of the token.
The collapse of Terra/Luna, the fiasco of Three Arrows Capital, followed by the bankruptcy of Voyager Chapter 11, the acquisition of Vauld by Nexo, the suspension of withdrawals by Celsius, only instilled more fear in the market. and pushed the price of bitcoin even lower.
At one point, the cryptocurrency fell to €17,000, down from its previous all-time high of around €19,000, which had also never happened before.
In the last two days, however, it has been gaining ground, rising almost 10%, to €22,000. Whether this indicates a trend reversal or simply a “dead cat bounce” remains to be seen.