The recent sell-off in the Bitcoin market was not as bearish as it seemed. Two early Bitcoin holders sold a combined $117 million in the cryptocurrency on March 19, but this was matched by whale wallets buying up the coin at a record pace.
According to data from on-chain analytics tools, large holders have been accumulating coins over the past few weeks, with 270,000 BTC added to their wallets over the past 30 days. This is the largest single-month accumulation in over 13 years.
The selling of Bitcoin by early holders was led by an unidentified wallet that sold 3,500 BTC on March 19, resulting in a profit of $330 million from its initial investment. Another seller linked to early investor Owen Gunden also moved 650 BTC to Kraken as part of a larger exit.
Despite the selling pressure, the Bitcoin price held above $70,000 due to the steady buying by whales. In fact, wallets holding over 1,000 BTC added a net 8,400 coins in the same 48-hour window as the Fed decision. The accumulation is pulling Bitcoin off exchanges at a pace not seen in years.