Examining on-chain data reveals a trend where large Bitcoin holders, or whales, have been offloading their holdings, but another group of investors, known as sharks, has been actively purchasing Bitcoin.
In a recent update shared on X, analyst James Van Straten delves into shifts in the Supply Dominance among different Bitcoin investor groups. The term "Supply Dominance" is an on-chain metric developed by Glassnode, which calculates the percentage of the total Bitcoin supply controlled by various investor categories.
Glassnode classifies these investors into five main groups based on the Bitcoin holdings within their wallets: shrimps (holding less than 1 BTC), crabs (1 to 10 BTC), fish (10 to 100 BTC), sharks (100 to 1,000 BTC), and whales (more than 1,000 BTC). Additionally, there are two special groups, miners and exchanges, because their market roles differ from those of individual self-custodial wallets.
Here’s a chart from the analyst illustrating how these seven wallet cohorts have evolved throughout Bitcoin’s history:
Currently, the whales have the highest share within these groups, according to Glassnode on X. The graph indicates that although whales have historically controlled the majority of Bitcoin’s supply, this dominance has been on a decline over the years. Recently, there’s been a sharp decline for this cohort, suggesting these major players have been selling off to capitalize on profits from the recent bull market. Yet, despite their ongoing sell-off, whales still command the largest proportion of the Bitcoin supply.
Meanwhile, the crabs, fish, and miners have maintained a steady supply trend, showing little change in either accumulation or distribution. On the other hand, shrimps, the smallest holders on the network, have been consistently buying, suggesting a renewed retail interest in Bitcoin.
Although shrimps are small players and their buying activity might not make a significant impact, the sharks’ behavior is noteworthy. They have been aggressively accumulating Bitcoin over the past few months. While they hold less than whales, making them less dominant, sharks are still vital to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Their recent buying actions could signal a positive outlook for Bitcoin.
Interestingly, following their recent buying spree, the sharks have boosted their Supply Dominance to over 20%, creating a significant lead over other groups, excluding the whales.
As for Bitcoin’s price, it has remained relatively stable lately, hovering around the $97,200 mark.
This content features images from Dall-E and is sourced from Glassnode.com, with charts from TradingView.com.
