Bitcoin whale clusters show ‘institutional FOMO’ is behind the BTC rally

[Charles-Tim]

The Google Trends interest is relatively low for the keyword “Bitcoin” while on-chain data shows smart money is accumulating BTC. Bitcoin (BTC) is continuing to show strong momentum even after a major rally. In 2017, when the price of Bitcoin hit an all-time high at $20,000, the retail demand was at its peak. Google Trends data soared, mainstream media coverage noticeably increased, and spot exchange volumes exploded across major markets, especially in South Korea and Japan. This time, the Google Trends interest is relatively low for the keyword “Bitcoin” while on-chain data shows smart money is accumulating BTC, which means possibly High-net-worth investors are buying Bitcoin


Bitcoin mean transfer volume. Source: Glassnode

Another Glassnode metrics paints a similar trend. The number of Bitcoin addresses holding more than 100 BTC hit a seven-month high at 16,271. And, Whales consistently buying Bitcoin over the past few months is optimistic in itself. But, Woo emphasized that the number of new whales has also increased.


The number of addresses holding over 100 BTC. Source: Glassnode

Google Trends data shows relatively low retail interest

Bitcoin search volume on Google. Source: Google Trends

Nevertheless, while the search volume for Bitcoin remains low, there is a particularly high interest coming from states like Hawaii, California, Nevada and Washington. But despite the high interests in these areas, it is still researched and known that whales are responsible for the recent increase in bitcoin price.

The fact that larger hands are accumulating BTC instead of retail investors also explains the somewhat suppressed mainstream interest in Bitcoin. Various metrics, including Google Trends, have shown lackluster mainstream demand for BTC despite its parabolic rally in recent months

Institutional "FOMO" makes the current BTC rally stronger than previous cycles
Whalemap analysts described the recent spike in demand for Bitcoin from whales as “institutional FOMO.” FOMO, short for "fear of missing out," refers to a trend wherein investors increasingly buy into an asset fearing it will continuously surge. Referring to a chart showing whale clusters and inflows into whale wallets, the analysts said: “These are the levels and this is what institutional fomo looks like.”



Whale clusters emerge when whale addresses — addresses that hold over 10,000 BTC — buy Bitcoin and do not move it for prolonged periods of time. This shows that whales plan to hold their most recent BTC purchases in their personal wallets.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whale-clusters-show-institutional-fomo-is-behind-the-btc-rally
https://cointelegraph.com/news/silicon-valley-and-smart-money-are-behind-this-bitcoin-rally-data-suggests

[Poker Player]

Yes, that seems to be the case. Especially because most institutions aren't planning to trade, at least in the shor-term. They buy bitcon as a reserve asset that protects against inflation and they are not so likely to get scared and sell out of a panick attack if the price falls.

Moreover, wait to see what happens when the masses start searching for bitcoin massively in google, like it happened in 2017. The price is going to the moon. I suppose this will happen when we reach an ATH again and it appears in the news. We'll see our hairdresser taking a loan to buy bitcoin.

[Becky666]

Yes, that seems to be the case. Especially because most institutions aren't planning to trade, at least in the shor-term. They buy bitcon as a reserve asset that protects against inflation and they are not so likely to get scared and sell out of a panick attack if the price falls.

But we should be mindful of their tactics, we all saw what happened in 2017 and this might be a replicate of it, so, let be more smart this time not to fall victim of the last man standing with ATH Purchase. They are pushing to another ATH before sell-off their accumulations to leave smaller institutions and individual buyers stranded (Hope you remember the year 2018 and 2019 experiences?).

Moreover, wait to see what happens when the masses start searching for bitcoin massively in google, like it happened in 2017. The price is going to the moon. I suppose this will happen when we reach an ATH again and it appears in the news. We'll see our hairdresser taking a loan to buy bitcoin.

I will pity those of them who are still waiting for more time before getting into the system, we all saw late entries in 2017 and their rewards, it's likely to happen again. Don't get a loan to purchase bitcoin when it hit $20k this year(2020), now is the time to buy with loan and not tomorrow. Although, those with the mindset to hold for a long-term can do.

[Rikafip]

@Charles-Tim I appreciate your effort in sharing interesting articles, but the way you did it in this case is not the right way. When you are copying text verbatim , and I see you did that a lot in this case, proper way is to put that in the quotation marks, so there is no confusion whether are those your own words or you just copied the sentences from outside source. For example, your first few sentences should look like this (and rest of the text for that matter, if copied the same way)

The Google Trends interest is relatively low for the keyword “Bitcoin” while on-chain data shows smart money is accumulating BTC. Bitcoin (BTC) is continuing to show strong momentum even after a major rally. In 2017, when the price of Bitcoin hit an all-time high at $20,000, the retail demand was at its peak. Google Trends data soared, mainstream media coverage noticeably increased, and spot exchange volumes exploded across major markets, especially in South Korea and Japan.

I hope you won't see this suggestion in a bad light, it's just one thing I noticed people  occasionally do, and imho it should be changed because there should be a clear distinction between your own words and something that you copied.

I will pity those of them who are still waiting for more time before getting into the system, we all saw late entries in 2017 and their rewards, it's likely to happen again.

There are many who are still waiting to but bitcoin for the first time. For them BTC is too expensive now at 16k USD, but when it reaches 25-30k USD then they will see it as a good opportunity, that's how it goes, and I've seen it from my friends. Earlier this year I was selling some BTC as I had some expenses and I asked all of those friends who begged me to sell them some during last bull run  when BTC was over 17k. And now, even though BTC was around 10k, no one was interested, they saw it as a bad investment. I expect them to  come back once real fomo kicks in.

Don't get a loan to purchase bitcoin when it hit $20k this year(2020), now is the time to buy with loan and not tomorrow. Although, those with the mindset to hold for a long-term can do.

This is horrible advice and I really hope no one listens to you. Getting loan to buy BTC is a very irresponsible and bad thing to do, no matter the price. You are supposed to invest only what you can afford to loose, otherwise you are just another gambler and you are endangering your livelihood.Unfortunately many did that in 2017 and it didn;t end up well, as you have to pay back the loan, banks won't wait for you to bitcoin goes above the price you paid, they want their money now.

[MusaMohamed]

From two articles, whales and institutes bought lots of bitcoin in this year and their big wallet sizes are represented by big bubbles on the chart. The Google trend from the article shows retail investors are not woken up to join the party. If what the article says is true, the party is not at its hottest phase.

Bad movements from bitcoin when it lost the $16000 support today.

[Charles-Tim]

But we should be mindful of their tactics, we all saw what happened in 2017 and this might be a replicate of it, so, let be more smart this time not to fall victim of the last man standing with ATH Purchase. They are pushing to another ATH before sell-off their accumulations to leave smaller institutions and individual buyers stranded (Hope you remember the year 2018 and 2019 experiences?).

You make a good point, which could make you to be right. But, during the 2017 bullrun, retail investors were the ones that fomo and buy bitcoin at the time, but this time, it is institutions are more that buy bitcoin and drove its price as high as the current price around $16000. Many data have led to conclusion that it is possible for bitcoin to achive all time high possibly very soon. But, very also possible the institutions to sell their holdings which can cause bitcoin bullback.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whale-clusters-show-institutional-fomo-is-behind-the-btc-rally
This bull market will be more stable than 2017
Atop the heightened involvement of whales and institutions, overall trading volume has substantially increased in the recent rally. Data from Santiment, an on-chain market analysis firm, also shows Bitcoin volume at around $31 billion and this is much higher than on Jan. 6, 2018. At the time, BTC price also was hovering at around $16,350. Santiment analysts found that the ongoing rally has more volume behind it than the 2017 rally. The analysts wrote:

“With Bitcoin hitting $16,350 on CoinbasePro an hour ago, we're now at the highest price level in 34 months (Jan 6, 2018). The avg. daily trading volume this week is $31.0B vs. $18.5B then.”

The roadblock in the near term for Bitcoin remains whether whales will sell at the $17,000 resistance. Some analysts say that there is no clear resistance until the $18,500–$20,000 range, which means an all-time high could be much closer than most expect.

[barto123]

This 'institutional FOMO' is only just beginning; wait until Google, Apple, FB etc jump on the bandwagon.

Bitcoin's economic & game theory incentives, will attract the richest & most powerful people in the world.

They will all want a decent share of the pie, but want be able to get it.

The supply is quickly running out.

This next wave is coming with a wall of money.

The dotcom bubble will be absolutely dwarfed!

[Becky666]

<snip>

I will pity those of them who are still waiting for more time before getting into the system, we all saw late entries in 2017 and their rewards, it's likely to happen again.

There are many who are still waiting to but bitcoin for the first time. For them BTC is too expensive now at 16k USD, but when it reaches 25-30k USD then they will see it as a good opportunity, that's how it goes, and I've seen it from my friends....

And more reason why your friends find it difficult to blend with the system. My point is: If you don't buy now; don't buy when it hit another All-Time-High because the system is likely to rebounce back IMHV, well, let see how things roll-out in the next few weeks.

Don't get a loan to purchase bitcoin when it hit $20k this year(2020), now is the time to buy with loan and not tomorrow. Although, those with the mindset to hold for a long-term can do.

This is horrible advice and I really hope no one listens to you..... <snip>

Not as horrible as you think, few week ago a family friend gat some loan (not my advise) to invest into Bitcoin and successfully pulled out some handsome profits; there's profit in risk management(imagine "A" collected a loan equivalent to 1-bitcoin some weeks ago when the price of bitcoin was $14k, he could have made some good profit). Life is all about risk and anyone without this mindset is likely to find success.

I won't suggest anyone push into Bitcoin funds(either self own or loan) when the price of bitcoin hit $20k by month end.

[Smartprofit]

Countries are also accumulating bitcoins.  

Iran plans to use bitcoins to circumvent sanctions:

https://news.bitcoin.com/iran-bitcoin-sanctions-inflation/

US seized 70,000 Silk Road bitcoins:

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/technology-54833130?usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D&amp_js_v=0.1#referrer=https://www.google.com&aoh=16053501224778&amp_tf=%D0%A1%20%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82%D0%B0%20%251%24s

Chinese authorities have arrested the Bitcoins of the Okex cryptocurrency exchange.  Russia is planning mandatory declaring Bitcoins until April 30, 2022.  

In the future, only countries and large corporations will hold Bitcoin?

[MusaMohamed]

Someday big nations will have Bitcoin reserves for their national currency reserves like they reserve with physical gold bars.

They won't make public and transparent declaration on their bitcoin reserves. I feel they will approve more law regulations on bitcoin to seize as much bitcoin as possible from darknet and use seized bitcoin for their bitcoin reserves.

[Rikafip]

Not as horrible as you think, few week ago a family friend gat some loan (not my advise) to invest into Bitcoin and successfully pulled out some handsome profits; there's profit in risk management(imagine "A" collected a loan equivalent to 1-bitcoin some weeks ago when the price of bitcoin was $14k, he could have made some good profit).

It doesn't really matter that it worked that time, it still makes it irresponsible to take a loan from bank to invest in something as volatile as bitcoin. Sure, some might get profit, but this mindset will get you in trouble sooner or later as risk/reward ratio is not good.

One of the golden rules of investing in something like bitcoin or stocks is that you only invest as much as you can afford to loose, reading invest only the money that you have extra. Not money that you need for basic necessities like food, utility bills etc and certainly not the money you don't have (loan). Especially not during this current economic instability due covid-19 , where people are loosing  their jobs left and right and we don't really know when will it end.

My point is: If you don't buy now; don't buy when it hit another All-Time-High because the system is likely to rebounce back IMHV, well, let see how things roll-out in the next few weeks.

What I would suggest to everyone buying bitcoin for the first time: buy now, buy when it reaches new ATH, buy if it drops to 5K. Just keep buying, whenever you can and if possible in regular basis, like every two weeks or once per month. Important thing is to only use money you have extra, don't ask from friends/family/bank. That way it will be less risky and you can still profit in the long run.

[Wind_FURY]

If it's true, it's probably because when the money printers go "Brrrrr", all the access to that newly printed money goes to the entities nearest to the printer. That's the government, then the banksters, then the institutions close to the banksters.

[Kakmakr]

Hey, let's be honest..... we all know the PayPal thing triggered this whole thing and from there on it is only the hype surrounding that and the FOMO that are driving the price up. Is there a problem with that... nah... that is how many other things work in the trading scene. You hear some big announcement on Social media or on the news and you rush to buy those shares or stocks.

I can never understand why it only becomes an issue, when this happens with Bitcoin.... somehow the competitors think that Bitcoin should not have that affect on the traders... and that is absurd!   Get over yourself and treat Bitcoin as any other Commodity out there... or Currency trade. (Forex) 

[Lucius]

Let’s put it this way, big fish have finally figured out what BTC is, and the moment couldn’t be better for them because small fish are currently preoccupied with something else (pandemic). If we take into account news like MicroStrategy, PayPal or Grayscale, then it is more than clear who and what is pushing the price up, but the price would be even higher if we had more small investors.

But we should be mindful of their tactics, we all saw what happened in 2017 and this might be a replicate of it, so, let be more smart this time not to fall victim of the last man standing with ATH Purchase. They are pushing to another ATH before sell-off their accumulations to leave smaller institutions and individual buyers stranded (Hope you remember the year 2018 and 2019 experiences?).

It makes sense if you manage to estimate the moment, and I would say that we are now roughly somewhere where we were at the end of 2016 - which means there is still time until the big pump. There will always be those who will invest at a time when the price is rising significantly, but such people do not want long-term investments but quick profits. Some of them will run into problems again, because when we reach the new ATH it is logical to expect a correction. However, this correction was gradual last time as well, so everyone had time to get out on time - except for those who were waiting for $100 000.

[buwaytress]

Had a few discussions recently and I've really never been in on the institutional excitement, I figure anyone who decided did so in the last bull run, and since most of it would have happened off chain, we weren't aware. But okay, sure, I'm slightly more convinced now that those on the sidelines are now making up their minds -- PayPal for example, the biggest example (though am sure it's just that they had their BitLicense take longer than they wanted).

[MusaMohamed]

I don't know how the article author create bubbles. Big bubbles show bigger clusters or FOMO but how did they do that? Are those bubbles real or author magnified from his subjective view.

The site for Bitcoin Treasuries: https://bitcointreasuries.org/
The Bitcoin Treasuries Discussion topic

[hatshepsut93]

Yes, that seems to be the case. Especially because most institutions aren't planning to trade, at least in the shor-term. They buy bitcon as a reserve asset that protects against inflation and they are not so likely to get scared and sell out of a panick attack if the price falls.

This isn't necessarily true, I doubt that institutional investors are viewing Bitcoin as a protection against inflation, they could just be riding the bullish market with a goal of cashing out at the top. They all realize that Bitcoin is a volatile speculative asset, and something that does well against inflation should also be safe.

[Wind_FURY]

Hey, let's be honest..... we all know the PayPal thing triggered this whole thing and from there on it is only the hype surrounding that and the FOMO that are driving the price up. Is there a problem with that... nah... that is how many other things work in the trading scene. You hear some big announcement on Social media or on the news and you rush to buy those shares or stocks.

I can never understand why it only becomes an issue, when this happens with Bitcoin.... somehow the competitors think that Bitcoin should not have that affect on the traders... and that is absurd!   Get over yourself and treat Bitcoin as any other Commodity out there... or Currency trade. (Forex) 

BUT, if you want truly be honest, then zoom out. What triggered Bitcoin to start a path to price discovery from a few cents, to more than $10,000, and on it's why to 6 digits? That's not mere FOMO, or hype in my opinion.

[pooya87]

BUT, if you want truly be honest, then zoom out. What triggered Bitcoin to start a path to price discovery from a few cents, to more than $10,000, and on it's why to 6 digits? That's not mere FOMO, or hype in my opinion.

exactly. people sometimes forget that the price rise didn't start yesterday, figuratively speaking. for instance in case of the PapPal news, price was already rising long before that news came out then it contributed to a little bit of hype then things went back to normal. it is the same with drops too, we see some panic sells for a short time (creating the dip) then things go back to normal again as price keeps rising.

[Karartma1]

Hey, let's be honest..... we all know the PayPal thing triggered this whole thing and from there on it is only the hype surrounding that and the FOMO that are driving the price up. Is there a problem with that... nah... that is how many other things work in the trading scene. You hear some big announcement on Social media or on the news and you rush to buy those shares or stocks.

I can never understand why it only becomes an issue, when this happens with Bitcoin.... somehow the competitors think that Bitcoin should not have that affect on the traders... and that is absurd!   Get over yourself and treat Bitcoin as any other Commodity out there... or Currency trade. (Forex) 

BUT, if you want truly be honest, then zoom out. What triggered Bitcoin to start a path to price discovery from a few cents, to more than $10,000, and on it's why to 6 digits? That's not mere FOMO, or hype in my opinion.

For once I agree and support your point of view. I am convinced, beyond any reasonable doubt, that we should never forget to view bitcoin from afar. Meaning that bitcoin must be recognized for ALL its properties. Institutional adoption, being the most discussed thing lately, is only a consequence of what bitcoin created over 11 years.
Becoming an asset like bitcoin is not something that requires a few days. And, as I keep repeating, this is just the beginning. If bitcoin keeps working this way expect an increasing amount of money to be invested in it.