Bitcoin is treading cautiously below the $110,000 level, signaling a pause in momentum after recent highs. At the time of writing, the asset is priced at $106,841, marking a mild 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours.
Despite brushing a daily high of $107,884, BTC appears to be consolidating in a narrow range, with market participants watching for the next significant move.
Amid this relatively flat price action, on-chain trends suggest that not all is quiet under the surface. A new analysis by CryptoQuant contributor “oinonen” sheds light on wallet activity within Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume.
Oinonen’s findings point to a sharp increase in whale-level participation, as well as a notable contribution from mid-tier investors, which could have implications for broader market behavior.
Citing CryptoQuant’s on-chain metrics, the analyst revealed that Binance’s inflow data shows that wallets depositing between 10 and 100 BTC now account for 40% of all Bitcoin inflows.
These wallet sizes typically belong to high-net-worth individuals, trading firms, or mid-sized institutions—those who sit between retail traders and deep-pocketed whales.
In contrast, whale-level inflows (100–1,000 BTC) currently represent 20% of the total, highlighting that mid-tier players may be driving more exchange activity than larger whales at this time.
Interestingly, whale activity still made a major appearance recently. On June 16, inflows of 10,000 BTC surged and made up 83% of total exchange inflows on Binance that day, reinforcing earlier observations from Oinonen about increased whale presence over the past year. According to CryptoQuant’s whale ratio metric, that presence has reportedly jumped by as much as 400% since mid-2023.
Beyond just inflow ratios, Binance’s overall deposit metrics suggest a growing trend of larger average deposits. The average Bitcoin deposit rose from 0.36 BTC in 2023 to 1.65 BTC in 2024.
The exchange processed $21.6 billion in user fund deposits in 2024, roughly 40% more than the combined totals of the next ten crypto exchanges.
Despite the growing institutional footprint, the significant portion of deposits in the 10–100 BTC range shows that mid-level market participants remain active contributors to the trading ecosystem.
This data may reflect a broader shift in how BTC is being accumulated and moved, where influence is shared between whales and mid-sized investors.
While whale flows often generate headlines, the consistent presence of mid-tier wallets can signal healthier market participation and a more distributed form of liquidity provision across the board.
With Bitcoin still consolidating near key price levels, these on-chain trends could help shape its next breakout, whenever it comes.
Featured image created with DALL-E. Chart from TradingView