Bitcoin whales buy bounces as hodlers trim positions

On-chain data shows the 10,000-100,000 BTC wallet cohort began increasing holdings on April 22. The timing matched a 20-period exponential moving average crossing above the 200-period exponential moving average on the 12-hour chart. Santiment data indicates the buying occurred while bitcoin traded near $77,670 inside a rising channel that has tracked price since Feb. 24.

Santiment historical data shows the same cohort increased holdings after recent lows: from about 2.26 million to 2.27 million BTC within days of the Feb. 6 low below $62,000, and from roughly 2.23 million to 2.26 million BTC between March 23 and early April. The April 22 increase coincided with the EMA crossover on the 12-hour chart.

ARK Invest’s Q1 Bitcoin Quarterly reports large holders expanded positions by 69%, from 2.13 million to 3.60 million BTC during the quarter’s drawdown. Those purchases were recorded near $68,200, while the April buying occurred around $77,000.

Glassnode’s Hodler Net Position Change, which measures net accumulation by mid-term wallets, peaked at 38,401 BTC on April 21 when bitcoin traded near $76,470 and fell to about 32,303 BTC by April 24. The metric shows mid-term holders trimmed net positions during the April bounce.

Price action reached the top of the rising channel at $79,528 on April 22 and reversed. A daily close above $79,528 would alter the chart structure and open the channel ceiling near $80,000. If price fails to clear $79,528, the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement at $75,523 is the first downside test. A break below $75,523 opens $73,046 and $71,043, with a deeper slide toward the 0.786 retracement at $66,190 exposing the channel floor near $62,559.

On-chain analysts and market participants recorded that the April 22 restart coincided with the EMA crossover on the 12-hour chart and that the 10,000-100,000 BTC cohort has shown similar buying behavior around technical signals in prior instances.