The number of Bitcoin whales is rapidly decreasing, possibly due to the high coin inflows to centralized exchanges

According to Glassnode, the Bitcoin market appears to be reversing its gains since January as whales quit and sell on centralized exchanges. The number of Bitcoin whales is rapidly dwindling, presumably due to a three-month high in coin inflows to centralized exchanges (CEXs). Glassnode, a market tracker for Bitcoin , has released multiple gloomy signs, including data indicating a market exit for whales holding at least 1,000 coins and exchange inflows of more than 1.7 million coins, the biggest since February.

High BTC inflows on CEX indicate that whales may be fleeing the market by selling coins, maybe in preparation for a protracted market slump. Short-term holders presumably executed recent sell-offs, who accumulated coins in late January and early February, when values had reached a 6-month low of around US$34,800. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has dropped to 11, the "Extreme Fear" area, due to unfavorable market outlooks based on hard evidence. The index measures how fearful or greedy Bitcoin investors are in general.

Despite the bad sentiment, daily BTC transactions do not appear to have been negatively affected yet. According to on-chain data from YCharts, there were 233,892 daily transactions worth about US$30 billion on May 8, matching the average since January.

Following the bullish performance in 2021, many analysts and organizations predicted that the BTC would continue surging. An example is American multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs, which said the flagship cryptocurrency could trade above US$100,000. The bank said BTC could unlock this milestone if investors considered it a store of value.

However, a series of events, including the COVID Omicron variant and fears of hiked interest rates, saw BTC plunge sharply from its November 10 all-time high of US$68,692.14. At the time of writing, BTC is changing hands at US$33,503.12 after losing 3.17% in the day. This price represents a 14.06% drop over the past seven days.

Lead on-chain analyst at Glassnode "Checkmate" tweeted on Sunday "Many of you are waiting for the Bitcoin 'capitulation wick'," partially confirming the notion that investors expect BTC to continue to fall. A capitulation wick is usually characterized by a relatively long, sudden, and catastrophic drop in price, like the one witnessed on March 12, 2020, when BTC dropped 43% in a day to around US$4,600.

Market analyst Caleb Franzen tweeted to his 11,000 followers on Sunday that investors should look for markets to continue trending downward based on his analysis suggesting we will remain "short-term bearish." He concluded by stating that it "seems worthwhile to expect more pain."

BTC is currently down 10.39% over the past seven days, trading at about US$33,806 according to Cointelegraph data.

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