Whales move crypto to Binance, but buyers are missing: Analyst

Large crypto holders have been depositing their tokens on crypto exchange Binance — one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world — in seeming preparation to sell, but analysts warn that buyers arent ready to take the trades yet.

So-called crypto whales deposited $2.4 billion near-evenly split between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to Binance in the past week, the exchanges largest net inflow in a month, but the “buying power is missing,” CryptoOnchain said in a note to CryptoQuant on Sunday.

“Crucially, this surge in risk-asset deposits was not accompanied by new buying power,” it added, noting that stablecoin net flows were “essentially flat” at an inflow of $42 million for the week, which was mostly tokens moving between the Ethereum and Tron blockchains.

Binance saw net inflows of $1.33 billion in Bitcoin and $1.07 billion in Ether in the past week. Source: CryptoQuant

CryptoOnchain said that large transfers of crypto from wallets to exchanges typically indicate either “preparation for selling or the use of these assets as collateral in derivatives markets.”

Bitcoin accumulation stalls

CryptoOnchain had said earlier on Sunday that it had found a “potentially bearish” signal, with the level of Bitcoin accumulation having stalled since October, while the average size of deposits to Binance had increased.

The average transaction size flowing onto Binance had jumped from around 8 to 10 Bitcoin to up to 22 to 26 Bitcoin, as whales transferred “substantial amounts” onto the platform, it added.

Meanwhile, outflows from the exchange have seen a “steep decline in the average size of withdrawal transactions,” with the Exchange Outflow Mean fluctuating between the “suppressed range” of 5.5 to 8.3 Bitcoin.

Binance exchange outflows have struggled to recover since a major drop in October. Source: CryptoQuant

“In other words, large-scale accumulation and the movement of Bitcoin into cold storage by major holders have drastically decreased,” CryptoOnchain said.

It added that the metrics were a “clear warning signal” as it pointed to rising selling pressure and a “diminishing appetite for long-term holding among major players, which could act as a significant headwind for price appreciation in the short to medium term.”

Bitcoin has gained 1.3% in the past day, settling to $92,600 after hitting a 24-hour high of $93,170 as the market lull of the holiday period ends.