Bitcoin over the counter desks buzz as analyst warns big players ‘want your Bitcoin’
By Kathi on Jul 30, 2021 | 02:30 AM IST
There’s no shortage of demand for Bitcoin at current prices,
but volatility to the downside is back on Friday.
Bitcoin (BTC) is being aggressively bought up by
institutional entities this week as data shows over the counter (OTC) trading
volumes spiking.
As noted by Dylan LeClair, co-founder of analytics and advisory
firm 21st Paradigm, high-net-worth individuals have a clear interest in Bitcoin
at current prices.
Citing data from on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode,
LeClair eyed a sudden uptick in OTC activity just as BTC/USD hit local highs of
$40,700.
A classic tandem event, OTC trading increases tend to
accompany a BTC price spike.
In May and June following the comedown from those highs,
OTC entities bought on temporary price dips. The same phenomenon has occurred
throughout the 2021 bull run, even before all-time highs appeared and BTC/USD
was still on the way up.
“Big transfer volumes from OTC Desks over the last week,”
he commented.
While the latest spike was not the largest in terms of
volume, data shows impressive flows from major exchanges.
As Cointelegraph reported, around 57,000 BTC left exchanges
in a single day on Wednesday, while Thursday saw Kraken alone shift a giant
98,000 BTC as buy-ins accelerated across the market.
Despite losing over $400 million on its BTC stash in Q2,
meanwhile, MicroStrategy, arguably the king of institutional Bitcoin investors,
has already pledged to buy more, but lower prices persist
Friday’s price performance, meanwhile, may precipitate a
replay of earlier buying interest.
At the time of writing, BTC/USD circled $38,600, having
dived 2.7% in an hour as a streak of bearish sentiment entered the market.
While nothing unusual, the volatility highlights the
difficulty bulls face in overcoming resistance, be it psychological at $40,000
or technical at $41,000 and above.
Given the relative lack of volatility over the past 24
hours, however, such a move was broadly expected among traders waiting for a
higher low after the trips above $40,000.