Why Did This Crypto Whale Spend $400 Million Buying Bitcoin Yesterday?

On-chain data shows a particular Bitcoin whale who accumulated almost $400 million between July 30 and 31. This whale is believed to have purchased the flagship crypto, having seen an opportunity to profit massively thanks to Bitcoin’s recent price action. 

On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed in an X (formerly Twitter) post that a Bitcoin whale (12QVs…oN2qo) has withdrawn 5,800 BTC ($387.88 million) from Binance in the past two days. This purchase suggests the whale anticipates higher prices from the flagship crypto soon enough and is looking to profit from such a price rally when the time comes. 

Interestingly, this purchase comes amid a decline in Bitcoin’s price, meaning that the whale sees this as a ‘buy the dip’ opportunity. Bitcoin dropped to as low as $63,500 on July 31, having rebounded to almost $70,000 days ago. This price drop can be attributed to several factors, including concerns over reports that Iran had ordered a retaliatory attack against Israel for killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting was held on July 31, and the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said little to suggest that an interest rate cut could come in September, another factor contributing to Bitcoin’s recent decline. 

Despite its recent decline, Bitcoin is expected to enjoy another rebound soon enough and possibly break above the $70,000 range on its next leg up and rise to an all-time high (ATH). Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe recently mentioned that Bitcoin looks good to continue toward a new ATH next month as long as the flagship crypto stays above $60,000 to $62,000.

Data from the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock shows that Bitcoin whales, holding at least 0.1% of BTC’s circulating supply, bought over 84,000 BTC in July. This represents these whales’ largest monthly wave of Bitcoin accumulation since October 2014. These investors looked to take advantage of the price dips that Bitcoin suffered in July. 

Bitcoin’s price crashes in June extended into the beginning of July, as the flagship crypto dropped to as low as $55,000. However, this BTC accumulation from these whales paid off, as the crypto token enjoyed a massive rebound in the latter parts of July and a monthly close in the green. 

These whales will still hope Bitcoin can record more impressive gains in August. Data from Cryptorank shows that Bitcoin has historically not enjoyed the best price action in August, ending the month in the red on eight occasions since 2011. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,400, down almost 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.