Citing data from Santiment Intelligence, popular analyst Ali Martinez showed a chart indicating that Bitcoin whale holdings remained almost completely unchanged at around 5.23 million units over the past week.
Perhaps the most obvious reason for this is what will happen in the next ten days, as BTC, alongside all financial markets, prepares for a major impact.
10 days of chaos
The analyst note that the lack of accumulation or distribution of whales suggests that these large market players are staying on the sidelines pending two particularly important events taking place in the next week: the US inflation report and the subsequent meeting of the Federal Reserve.
Inflation data is split: the first batch, the August Producer Price Index (PPI), arrives today, while the much larger Consumer Price Index (CPI) comes out a day later. Inflation has already become a major talking point after the better-than-expected US jobs report significantly increased expectations of another Fed rate hike.
Current odds point to a 60% chance of a rate hike in September, although a Reuters poll find that most economists still expect the central bank to remain on hold. Therefore, Friday’s CPI reading could play a major role in breaking this disagreement.
While these two macroeconomic events will indeed have some impact on the digital asset market, there are others. The crypto-specific catalyst arrives on September 15, when the Senate is scheduled to hold its procedural vote on advancing the CLARITY Act. Previous progress or delays have generally influenced the market.
A day later comes the aforementioned Federal Reserve rate decision, accompanied by Kevin Warsh’s press conference and updated economic projections. Next week ends with the Bank of Japan’s own rate announcements, with another hike likely to add pressure to global bond and currency markets.
BTC below $80,000
The whales’ hesitation mirrors BTC’s broader price action, with the asset remaining stable between $77,500 and $80,000 for about a week. Each breakout attempt was stopped in its tracks at the upper limit, while the lower limit provided the necessary support on subsequent pullbacks.
However, this market uncertainty will likely change over the next week. With the PPI, CPI, CLARITY Act vote, Fed decision and BOJ decision coming almost consecutively, bitcoin is expected to exit its consolidation phase, which continued for weeks after the mid-August pullback.
Bitcoin Whales Stay Away Ahead of 10 Chaotic Days: What’s Coming? appeared first on CryptoPotato.
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