Autor Cointelegraph By William Suberg

Bitcoin (BTC) is back in fashion for regular investors at $48,000 as data confirms the biggest buying spree since March 2020.In a tweet on Dec. 14, statistician Willy Woo eyed a key trend that had previously been absent from the Bitcoin market for over 18 months.Retail adds BTC like it’s March 2020After crashing to $3,600 in March 2020, BTC/USD was a hot pick for those able and willing to invest — and now, that phenomenon is back.The changes in balances for wallets holding 1 BTC or less — typically suggesting smallscale investors — have reached their highest since March 2020.While the circumstances remain the same — coronavirus fears and macro market jitters over central bank policy — the major difference at the end of 2021 is that Bitcoin costs $48,000, not $3,600.Nonetheless, if the retail accumulation data is accurate, interest is surging.“The last time retail bought the dip this hard was at the bottom of the COVID crash,” Woo commented.The last time retail bought the dip this hard was at the bottom of the COVID crash.Probably nothing, few, etc etc. pic.twitter.com/HuxNxYMl48— Willy Woo (@woonomic) December 14, 2021As Cointelegraph reported this week, larger existing hodlers continue to exhibit mixed behavior at current price levels. Despite selling by some, the top tier — whales — are more cautious about divesting away from BTC.“Smart” vs. “dumb” money hits all-time highMeanwhile, the proportion of long-term investors has reached a record high versus short-term market participants.Related: Bitcoin price dip may end Wednesday as Bitfinex bids hint at Fed ‘buy the news’ plansAccording to the so-called “Smart Money Gap” indicator, consisting of data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, there has never been a greater disparity between the amount of BTC held by “smart” and “dumb” money — long-term and short-term buyers.Throughout Bitcoin’s history, local peaks in the metric have heralded the start of price bull runs, signifying local price bottoms.Bitcoin Smart Money Gap annotated chart. Source: TwitterThe numbers support the narrative that Bitcoin’s near 40% come-down from $69,000 all-time highs “flushed out” speculative market bets.

Bitcoin (BTC) declined into the Wall Street open on Dec. 13 as stocks came off Friday’s record close.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD diving below $48,000 to reach multi-day lows at the time of writing.Equities had been tipped to add to all-time highs prior to the start of trading, this getting off to a cold start on the day with gains slipping.Correspondingly, Bitcoin added to losses which totaled over $3,000 in 24 hours.Traders thus continued to eye sideways or consolidatory movements for the near term, steering clear of any outright bullish calls.”Something like this would drive people nuts,” Scott Melker, known as the Wolf of all Streets, commented on a fresh chart prediction. “This is what I have been preparing myself for since the drop 10 days ago. I would prefer Up Only, so let’s hope that’s what we get.”BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Scott Melker/ TwitterOthers had already called for limp price action concluding 2021, this countered by on-chain metrics calling for a return to strength for markets.”BTC may be repeating the consolidation period it also experienced following its May 2021 crash,” trader and analyst Rekt Capital added on the day.He highlighted Bitcoin’s 50-week exponential moving average (EMA) and 21-week EMA as support and resistance levels respectively.Bitcoin preserves 40% market cap dominanceAltcoins looked bleak as Bitcoin fell, fuelling suspicions that a return of “altseason” may have to wait.Related: ‘I think BTC is ready’ — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this weekBitcoin market cap dominance, while hovering near six-month lows, managed to bounce back above 40% after a brief breakdown Thursday.Alts look rekt. pic.twitter.com/PGRvvJdQys— filbfilb (@filbfilb) December 13, 2021The latest move further threatened the stronger outliers in the altcoin story in recent weeks, notably Ether (ETH) against Bitcoin, which reversed from three-year highs to challenge new support.ETH/BTC 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView”Overall, I think we are in ‘buy the dip’ zones,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe argued on the broader major cap altcoin scene in his latest YouTube update.

Bitcoin (BTC) whales are the center of attention this week as buying and selling habits split the BTC price narrative.New findings from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant show derivatives investors leading the way when it comes to bullish bets on Bitcoin.“Sick” BTC price indicator favors bullsThe second half of November produced a marked uptick in the buy/sell ratio on major derivatives trading platform Deribit, and for contributing analyst Cole Garner, this is a sure sign that price action will react positively in the near term.“I recently discovered the ratio of market buys & sells of perpetuals on Deribit Exchange is a sick leading indicator,” he commented. “This is a 30 day WMA. Strong bullish trends in the metric have preceded every strong bullish price trend of this bull. And it just printed monster bull move.”The data ties in with other recent observations from the exchange sphere against a backdrop of whale interest continuing throughout the price correction from all-time highs.Exchange reserves more broadly are now at four-year lows, meaning exchanges have less BTC on their books than at any time since the old all-time highs of $20,000 in 2017.Bitcoin exchange reserve chart. Source: CryptoQuantFed pressure on BTC positionsThe flipside, however, lies with stablecoins. Redemptions of those hit all-time highs of their own this week, with the implication that whales are hedging exposure to BTC.Related: ‘I think BTC is ready’ — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week“Redeemed Stable Coin index indicates ATH(All Time High). Not sure if the whales are cashing out ahead of the market’s volatility in response to the December 16th FOMC announcement, but that’s also one of the uncertainties,” CryptoQuant contributor Dan Lim explained.“So far, we still be careful until some uncertainties will be resolved.”Screenshot showing stable redemption spike. Source: CryptoQuantThis week will see the United States Federal Reserve meet to give signals on the future of quantitative easing in the form of asset purchases, something that could have wide-reaching consequences for macro and crypto markets alike.