Bitcoin: Can $89 mln in whale buys help BTC clear its recent losses?

Bitcoin [BTC] rebounded from its $86k dip, rising to a local high of $89,497 before slightly retracing. At press time, BTC traded at $89,008, slightly up by 0.93% on the daily charts. 

With Bitcoin successfully defending $88k, the market signaled a gradual shift in sentiment across all participants. 

Bitcoin whale adds $89 million BTC

Bitcoin’s prolonged stay below its long-term moving averages has created a perfect buying window for investors, including whales.

 In fact, large entities have taken this market slip as an opportunity to buy Bitcoin at a discount. 

According to Onchain Lens, a whale purchased 1,000 BTC, worth $89.2 million, from OKX in two 500 BTC batches. The whale’s move to pile up during a broader bearish market structure indicated bullish sentiment. 

Interestingly, this whale case is not isolated, as buying activity seems to be recovering across the market. 

According to CW, investors on Binance and OKX have increased their BTC buying activity. In these exchanges, buyers have outpaced sellers significantly, both on the Spot and on the perpetual markets. 

Also, Bitcoin’s exchange netflow turned negative after holding positive for two consecutive days. At press time, Spot Netflow held around $41 million, indicating increased outflows, with over $2.55 billion flowing out of exchanges. 

Usually, higher outflows and a negative Netflow suggest that buyers have dominated the market and displaced sellers. 

U.S. investors hold the market back

Although demand on Binance and OKX has signaled recovery, U.S. investors have remained bearish, with Coinbase recording increased selling pressure.

Therefore, the downward pressure on BTC is coming from Coinbase, as U.S. whales and retail continue to sell on any slight gains. This is further evidenced by the negative Coinbase Premium Index.

In fact, the index has remained largely negative, only recording a positive value twice in 30 days. 

Coupled with that, U.S. spot ETFs recorded net inflows only once over the past seven days. On the 27th of January, Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of over $147.3 million. 

Weakening ETFs further showed that U.S. investors, including institutions, were extremely bearish and active on the sell side. These market conditions additionally weaken BTC and leave it exposed to potentially more losses.

BTC at crossroads

Bitcoin bounced back from its $86k slip, as demand slightly rebounded on OKX and Binance, especially from whales. However, BTC failed to maintain any significant gains as Coinbase investors pressured through the market.

Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) evidenced this market condition. This momentum indicator jumped from 35 recorded three days ago to 46 at press time.

Although the RSI reached these levels, it remained in the bearish zone, suggesting that buyers’ attempts were insufficient to trigger a bullish reversal. These two conflicting forces have left BTC at a crossroads.

Therefore, for a bullish reversal, Binance and OKX buyers must overwhelm Coinbase’s selling pressure. In doing so, Bitcoin will reclaim $93,197k, based on the Future Grand Trend Indicator.

Conversely, the continuity of the current market conditions will see BTC trade within the $88k-90k range, with $86k as key support.

Final Thoughts

• A Bitcoin whale purchased 1,000 BTC, worth $89.2 million, as demand signaled recovery on Binance and OKX
• Bitcoin has continued to face strong downward pressure from Coinbase investors, with ETFs recording $147 million in outflows.