• Whales’ Bitcoin transfers fuel sell-off speculations.
• Institutional commitment to BTC remains strong, overtaking retail.

Bitcoin [BTC] is on the verge of making history yet again in 2024. AMBCrypto recently reported that this week would be crucial for dictating BTC’s prospects, determining whether it would align with the cyclical trend and climb higher or lean toward the monetary outlook and decline.

Well, looks like the king coin has taken the former path. On the 29th of October, the leading cryptocurrency surged past the crucial $70,000 mark, for the first time since June.

It reached a peak of $73,620 on Binance—just over a hundred dollars shy of its all-time high of $73,777. At press time, BTC was exchanging hands at $72,350, up by approximately 2% over the past day.

This impressive rally reignited bullish sentiment among investors. Yet, it also raised a pressing question: Will this breakthrough trigger a wave of profit-taking?

Are BTC sell-offs coming?

Recent activity suggests potential sell-offs may be underway. According to Lookonchain, following Bitcoin’s surge past $71,000, a whale wallet holding 749 BTC (worth $53.23 million) became active after remaining dormant for 12 years.

This whale originally accumulated BTC back in 2012 when Bitcoin was priced at just $11, totaling an investment of $8,151 at the time. Now, it has transferred out 159 BTC ($11.32 million).

Another major player potentially preparing to cash out is the Government of Bhutan. Blockchain intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence revealed that crypto wallets linked to Bhutan’s Royal Government moved $66.55 million worth of BTC to Binance. 

Notably, their last exchange deposit was four months ago, in early July. At the time of writing, Bhutan held 12.47K BTC, valued at $904.34 million.

BlackRock doubles down on Bitcoin holdings

While sell-offs loom, BlackRock remained firmly committed to Bitcoin. As noted by Lookonchain, the asset management giant purchased another 4,528 BTC worth over $322 million on 28th October.

Furthermore, in the past two weeks, BlackRock significantly expanded its Bitcoin holdings, adding 34,085 BTC to its portfolio. This addition was valued at approximately $2.3 billion.

The latest purchase brought its holdings to 408,253 BTC, valued at a staggering $29.09 billion, signaling strong institutional interest in the asset.

Where are the retail investors?

Despite Bitcoin’s remarkable price performance, retail appeared to be sleeping on the asset. Google Trends data revealed that search interest for “Bitcoin” scored just 17 out of 100, last week. At press time, the value was slightly up at 23.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant’s latest report indicated that retail participation was overshadowed by larger investors.

While retail investors were gradually re-entering the market, their holdings, however, were growing at an unusually slow rate. 

Additionally, Bitcoin transfer activity among retail investors remained relatively low. Daily transfers totaled just $326 million on September 21, marking the lowest level since at least 2020. 

Historically, low transfer activity by retail investors often precedes price rallies for Bitcoin, a trend seemingly playing out now.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024–2025

Therefore, as Bitcoin approaches record highs, the interplay between whales, institutes, and retail could shape its short-term trajectory—one that may set the stage for either unprecedented highs or a profit-taking pause.