Bitcoin “shrimps” are accumulating at the fastest pace in history, data from Glassnode shows.
The bitcoin accumulation
According to the lead on-chain analyst at Glassnode, an on-chain data provider, “shrimps”, who are entities holding less than one bitcoin (BTC), are adding 28,000 BTC per month, the fastest in the network’s history.
The development is amid stalling BTC prices. After worrying drops on April 19, the recovery last week has been stellar, a net positive for traders and holders.
Despite the general confidence of price expansions in the sessions ahead, BTC has failed to break above $30,000 and $31,000, respectively.
On April 26, prices rose to retest $30,000 but failed to break above April 2023 highs. This line marks the immediate liquidation line that has capped the upside momentum.
As it marks the recent H1 2023 highs, buyers must break above this level for trend continuation. Depending on trader participation, BTC might float to over $32,000 in the days ahead of the highly anticipated halving in 2024.
The accumulation of coins by “shrimps”, mostly retail holders, reading from their holdings and depth of address spread, indicates their confidence in BTC’s prospects.
As of April 28, over 44 million unique addresses held less than 1 BTC. Meanwhile, 888,000 addresses are held between 1 and 10 BTC.
While there could be a real possibility that one holder might control several addresses, Glassnode classifies any transaction that doesn’t combine their UTXO as a single “entity” for easy trend determination.
These “entities” can then be categorized depending on the number of coins held at any given time, leading to better visualization of BTC ownership.
Onchain transactions rising as BTC expands 50% from mid-March
A notable observation, a Glassnode analyst observes, is that Shrimps have been accumulating even more coins during price contractions. This is a pointer to confidence since, typically, coin holders tend to liquidate whenever there are fears of future price contractions.
The accumulation also coincides with the number of on-chain transactions. Glassnode data shows that as of April 29, 426,337.14 transactions, based on a seven-day moving average, were recorded on the Bitcoin network, a record high.
Bitcoin prices have rallied roughly 50% from mid-March as tailwinds were provided by a more hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed). The central bank hiked interest rates despite the banking crisis in the United States, driving BTC prices higher.
