In the last couple of days, BTC and ETH whale activity has been ramped up. On April 1st, around 21,334 Bitcoin (worth nearly $1.2 billion) were transferred by three separate wallets. The first of these transactions were 12,000 BTC from a cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, to a private wallet. The second was 7,134 BTC, valued at $420 million which was equally withdrawn from an exchange and to a private wallet. The last was 2,200, also withdrawn from exchanges to a private wallet.
The heightened whale activity comes amidst rising volatility. Notably, the same trend has been observed with Ethereum which has set a new high in the last few days.
Just a week ago, Coinbase reported a withdrawal of 400 ETH which was considered a substantial amount. A number of analysts believe that this signals institutional interest in the world’s largest altcoin. However, unlike Bitcoin, few institutions have come out to announce their purchase.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are now facing a liquidity crisis as exchanges balances hit the floor. As the situation worsens, many believe it could trigger unique demand and see prices moon.
ETH Breaks Above $2K
In the last 7 days, ETH has gained around 25% to reach its year high of $2,000 and set a new high at $2,100. On the day, the altcoin is up by 5%. Market observers have noted that the altcoin is not slowing down and is signalling further upward movement to reach as high as $3,000 by the end of the year.
Bitcoin on the other hand is struggling to stay above $60,000. Although it is up by 8%, the digital asset is being rejected at this level. One of the main reasons Bitcoin is struggling is a drop in dominance, after staying above 60% throughout the first two months of the year, in recent weeks it has dropped below this. The drop has been credited to the rise of altcoins led by Ethereum and inspired by other notable surges in the likes of Binance coin and Filecoin.
JPMorgan: Volatility Drop Will Attract Investors
Bitcoin volatility has been one of the main drawbacks for institutional investors. JPMorgan notes that its drop this year could increase institutional interest. Analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglous noted,
“Over the past weeks, we started seeing the first signs of bitcoin volatility peaking and subsiding from its end-February highs,”
The investment bank notes that bitcoin’s realized six-month volatility has dropped to 72% from highs of 100% recorded in 2017. With institutions leading demand, market prices are set to outperform their 2017 rise.
