Bitcoin Whale Wallets Hit a Record While Shorts Pile In. What Comes Next?

Bitcoin (BTC) wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have climbed to 20,338, an all-time high, according to Santiment.

The count has risen sharply since mid-July, even as BTC’s price swung repeatedly through the same stretch.

Bitcoin’s Deep-Pocketed Wallets Keep Multiplying

Santiment, an on-chain analytics firm, said this cohort has historically moved closely with Bitcoin’s future price direction.

According to the firm, new large holders entering this range during choppy trading point to confidence among deep-pocketed investors. In its view, those investors are staying put through periods of weakness.

Santiment called the trend encouraging for BTC bulls. However, it cautioned that the price could still move lower in the short term.

“Persistent growth among Bitcoin’s most influential wallets creates a healthier setup for future upside if accumulation continues,” the firm said.

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Short Sellers Gain Ground as ETF Money Flows Out

Nonetheless, this month, 2 other groups of investors have leaned the opposite way. Bitcoin funding rates on Binance have turned negative at -0.0073%, analyst Darkfost reported. 

A negative reading means most traders now hold short positions. Funding last fell below zero in June, when BTC traded near $62,000.

Darkfost added that Binance builds a 0.01% interest rate into its formula. Neutral therefore sits at 0.01%, so any reading below zero signals heavy short dominance.

He noted the shift came after hotter-than-expected consumer and producer inflation data raised the odds of a rate hike. BTC slipped below $80,000 on October 15, following the producer inflation report.

ETF investors have also pulled money out. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $539.8 million in net outflows between October 1 and 14. That included $261.5 million on October 14 alone.

The funds had drawn $3.52 billion in net inflows in August and $2.65 billion in September. 

Bitcoin’s Price Map Runs From $74,000 to $88,000

Even so, BTC has recovered part of its recent losses over the past 24 hours. BTC trades at $82,034, up 1.49% over the past day, per BeInCrypto Markets data.

The rebound lifts it back above the roughly $81,500 average cost of US spot ETF holdings, per Glassnode.

Darkfost noted that BTC had corrected significantly after topping $87,000 a few days earlier. He added that crowded bearish positioning has often preceded reversals, though some proved short-lived.

The analyst flagged $80,000 and $74,000 as key zones. Glassnode places the largest bid block on Binance’s spot order book at $80,000. Below this lies the True Market Mean near $78,000.

On the upside, $88,000 marks the cost basis of 6-to-12-month buyers and a short liquidation cluster. Glassnode said a daily close above it, with renewed ETF inflows, would show buyers absorbing supply.

If BTC retests $80,000, Santiment’s wallet count will show whether large holders keep adding at lower prices.

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