Bitcoin Continues To Flow Out Of Major Exchanges — Supply Squeeze Soon?

It was quite the coincidence that the cryptocurrency market jolted back to life after Easter Sunday, with Bitcoin leading the way with more than a double-digit gain. While the price of BTC continues to hold above the critical $94,000 level, the premier cryptocurrency seems to be losing some momentum.

Unsurprisingly, investors appear to be increasingly confident in the promise of this recent rally, as significant amounts of BTC continue to make their way off major centralized exchanges over the past few days. Here’s how much investors have moved in the past few days.

In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, crypto analyst João Wedson revealed that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has seen increased activity over the past few days. The exchange netflow data shows that huge amounts of Bitcoin have been withdrawn from the platform in recent days.

According to CryptoQuant data, a total of 27,750 BTC (worth $2.63 billion at current price) was moved out of Binance on Friday, April 25. This latest round of withdrawals represents the third-largest net outflow in the centralized exchange’s history.

The movement of significant crypto amounts from exchanges, which offer services like selling to non-custodial wallets, suggests a potential shift in investor sentiment and strategy. Large exchange outflows often signal increased confidence of holders in the long-term potential of an asset.

Wedson noted that the recent outflows do not guarantee a price rally for Bitcoin, but they do signal strong institutional activity, which is often a precursor for major volatility. Citing China’s crypto ban in 2021, the crypto analyst highlighted how massive exchange outflows didn’t prevent the dump.

At the same time, Wedson mentioned that the continuous Bitcoin outflows over several days, like during the FTX collapse, preceded a price bottom and the eventual market recovery. Ultimately, the online pundit hinted at paying close attention to the overall trend of the exchange netflow rather than a single-day activity.

Similarly, more than 7,000 BTC (worth approximately $66.5 million) have made their way out of the Coinbase exchange. According to the CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha, this negative exchange netflow could be an indicator of increased institutional activity, as Coinbase is known as the primary crypto vendor for US-based institutions.

Taha said:

These large outflows typically suggest accumulation by institutions or large investors, potentially signaling bullish sentiment.

The analyst outlined that if the dwindling exchange reserves correlate with an increased spot demand or ETF inflows, a supply squeeze could be on the horizon, potentially pushing the price to the upside.

As of this writing, the price of BTC sits just beneath $95,200, reflecting an almost 2% increase in the past 24 hours.