The number of so-called whales or network entities owning at least 1,000 BTC jumped to 1,678 early this week, reaching the highest since January 2021, according to data tracked by Glassnode and Bitwise. The growing accumulation by large holders alongside solid uptake for alternative vehicles, especially the U.S.-listed spot ETFs, suggests increasing confidence in bitcoin’s price prospects. Meanwhile, retail investor accumulation has slowed, with the cryptocurrency’s price nearing $70,000, according to analytics firm CryptoQuant.”Retail holdings have risen by just 1K Bitcoin in the last thirty days, a historically slow pace,” analysts at CryptoQuant told CoinDesk.
