- Whales (large investors) move 18,000 BTC from Coinbase.
- Coinbase withdrawal might signal future price increases due to halving and supply-demand.
Bitcoin holdings on the Coinbase crypto exchange have reached their lowest level in nine years as users move a significant amount off the exchange. According to a CryptoQuant report, whales moved 18,000 Bitcoin worth nearly $1 billion over the weekend, with transfer values ranging from $45 million to $171 million. Coinbase’s public order book now holds around 394,000 BTC, estimated to be worth $20.5 billion.
Some X users believe the movement of funds indicates a supply shock before the halving, while others pointed out that whales are just moving funds to OTC desks or other custodians.
Halving Countdown: Supply Squeeze Meets ETF Boom
Whales moving their BTC holdings away from centralized exchanges is considered a bullish sign as it means less Bitcoin is available for sale. However, users on social media are currently divided over the nature of the transfer. Some believe these funds are being moved to custodial wallets in anticipation of a price surge, with the upcoming Bitcoin halving just two months away, creating a supply shock. While a few others believe that the moved funds could be used for liquidity for over-the-counter (OTC) trades.
A few others said that the funds are possibly going to a different custodian, and these aren’t individual withdrawals as most of what’s in these exchanges “doesn’t belong to them anyways, so this number should be a lot lower.”
With every Bitcoin halving cycle, the amount of new BTC entering the market is reduced by half, creating a supply crunch as demand grows. The next BTC halving is scheduled for this April and is estimated to take place at a block height of 740,000. The block reward for each block mined by miners will be reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The latest halving also comes amid a huge institutional demand, with 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approved in January.
Currently, around 900 BTC is mined daily, while Bitcoin ETF’s daily net inflow is about half a billion or about 9,650 BTC despite Grayscale registering nearly $100 million in daily outflow.
Post-April halving, the daily amount of BTC produced will be reduced to about 450 BTC, with institutional demand continuing to rise. This massive supply-demand gap has historically proven bullish for Bitcoin price as BTC has risen to new all-time highs within a year of the BTC halving.
Bitcoin price is currently trading at over $52,000, its highest since December 2021, and only down 25% from its all-time high of around $69,000.
