March saw the price of Bitcoin bounce back sharply above $90,000 after a period of wild fluctuations.
Even though the crypto market has been a tad volatile of late, the preeminent cryptocurrency has kept showing its resilience—a quality that always seems to give rise to hopes for yet more upward price momentum. One trend accompanying the price surge, and sure to be of interest to retail investors, has been the apparent increase in the number of Bitcoin wallets. Yet, this uptick in retail investor activity could just be the cover for larger players taking some much-deserved profits.
Wallet Growth Continues as Retail Investors Enter the Market
During the last month, the Bitcoin network has seen meaningful expansion, with 50,000 new wallets to show for it. The really interesting part? Almost all of these new wallets belong to smaller Bitcoin holders, which means that our engagement with the cryptocurrency continues apace. The retail sector, in particular, can be said to be showing some enthusiasm for this digital currency, with many of us building our positions. Just how many of us? Well, the number of wallets holding less than 0.1 BTC has swelled by about 37,390.
Bitcoin has rebounded back above $90K as prices have been rollercoastering here in March. There are 50K more wallets on the network than there were a month ago. By size, there are:
37,390 MORE wallets holding less than 0.1 $BTC
12,754 MORE wallets holding 0.1 – 100 $BTC… pic.twitter.com/xClRIGa4Rj
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 5, 2025
At the same time, Bitcoin’s accounts have been on the rise. Yet, it is critical to specify which types of accounts have been growing fast and which have not. For instance, wallets with at least 100 BTC in them have not been growing at all. In fact, in the last couple of weeks, six fewer wallets have been counted as having 100 or more BTC.
In contrast, wallets with 0.1 to 100 BTC in them have grown by a whopping 12,754. And it’s a very safe bet that this is a sign, not of profit-taking, but of accumulation.
The relatively slow growth of large wallets could signal that caution prevails among big investors. They may be trying to lock in profits as they watch Bitcoin’s rollercoaster of a price chart. Still, one has to wonder whether there might be some renewed bullishness in the market if the number of these larger wallets is also on the rise. After all, the price breakout and the breakout in the number of large wallets could be seen as a positively correlated event.
Profit-Taking from Large Wallets Signals Caution
Even as the number of small and mid-sized Bitcoin wallets has grown—an indicator of increased grassroots engagement with the digital currency—worries about the behavior of bigger wallets have mounted. Ample data exists to indicate that, since the establishment of a new bear market in early 2018, the ranks of small and medium-sized wallets have continued to balloon. Despite the rally and recovery seen in the overall Bitcoin market since the beginning of this year, the number of wallets containing 100 or more BTC has only seen a slight uptick. This suggests that the big guys are either not engaging much with BTC at current levels or are locking in profits post-surge.
Profit-taking by major holders of Bitcoin might look like a natural, even healthy, development. Bitcoin has been exceedingly volatile in recent weeks, and the larger your Bitcoin wallet, the more sensitive you are to these kinds of market swings. We haven’t seen this kind of extreme in either direction for a long time. And when the price of an asset has been anything but stable, the urge to take profits when you can hardly gainsays human nature. If markets calm somewhat and these large wallets can muster the nerve to add to their holdings instead of trimming them, that will be a sign that the buoys are out again and a more stable Bitcoin price could be in our future.
Regardless of these profit-taking steps, the entire market is still perking up. Overall, things seem to be going in a good direction. At least they’re going better than they were going, which was in a downward direction. Bitcoin is right up there leading the pack in terms of price points to pay attention to, right along with the usual suspects that always seem to come up (like Amazon, Google, etc.) when talking about investments. Most eyes, meanwhile, are watching to see if the cryptocurrency can reclaim the $97,000 price point.
If #Bitcoin $BTC reclaims $97,000, it could gain momentum for a move toward $150,000, according to the Pi Cycle Top indicator! pic.twitter.com/yok308t4Jy
— Ali (@ali_charts) March 6, 2025
Bitcoin ETF Outflows and Market Sentiment
Besides the activity seen in Bitcoin wallets, the total amount of funds in institutional investments seems to be on the move as well. On March 5, the total net outflow from Bitcoin spot ETFs was recorded at 38.2958 million US dollars. This figure could be a reflection of the recent price volatility having a more direct influence on investor sentiment.
Due to the direct affinity spot ETFs have with the price of Bitcoin, not to mention the more indirect link they have with the price of the cryptocurrency’s underlying asset, these recent moves (or lack thereof) could speak volumes about the kinds of concerns and opportunities Bitcoin is currently presenting to potential investors.
On March 5, the total net outflow of Bitcoin spot ETF was 38.2958 million US dollars, and the total net outflow of Ethereum spot ETF was 63.3202 million US dollars. https://t.co/59u0BnEqLG
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 6, 2025
The outflow might signal that institutional investors are growing warier, perhaps forecasting that prices will correct or consolidate in the near term. But the overall narrative in the Bitcoin market seems as bullish as ever, with the cryptocurrency’s many long-term proponents remaining quite optimistic.
The Road Ahead for Bitcoin
While Bitcoin persists in its attempts to break through crucial price levels, the next few weeks might be very important for its market cycle to determine which way the price goes. If less wealthy Bitcoin holders continue to accumulate the price-stressed asset, and if the well-to-do on the blockchain start to add to their positions once more, we could see the price of Bitcoin committing to the kind of uptrend that gets a lot of people talking about it again.
Though the wallet count is rising and large investors are giving mixed signals, the number of wallets is a generally positive sign. The big investors’ profit-taking could put a damper on Bitcoin’s growth but their returning to the market could see it blasting off toward $150,000. The state of the market is cautious optimism.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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