Recent on-chain data indicates that retail investors have been selling off their Bitcoin holdings, while showing an increased interest in XRP and Ethereum.
Holder Counts Rise for XRP & Ethereum, While Bitcoin Sees a Decline
In a recent update on X, on-chain analytics company Santiment has highlighted the latest trends in the Total Amount of Holders for the three leading cryptocurrencies. The “Total Amount of Holders” is a metric that measures the number of addresses that possess a non-zero balance on a particular network.
An upward trend in this metric suggests that new investors are entering the market, or former investors are re-entering after selling previously.
Additionally, such trends may occur when current users redistribute their assets to new addresses for privacy or other considerations. Overall, all these factors can contribute to an increase in the metric.
Consequently, an increase in the Total Amount of Holders signals a net positive adoption of the cryptocurrency.
Conversely, a decline in this metric indicates that some investors are liquidating their wallets, possibly aiming to exit the cryptocurrency completely.
Here is a chart provided by Santiment showing the trends in the Total Amount of Holders for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP over recent months:
The metric appears to have diverged for BTC in recent weeks | Source: Santiment on X
The graph clearly shows that the Total Amount of Holders for XRP and Ethereum has been on an upward trajectory for some time, suggesting a consistent influx of new investors into these networks. Among the two, XRP is currently seeing a faster adoption rate.
In contrast, Bitcoin has experienced a different trend. After fluctuating sideways for a while, the number of holders for Bitcoin is now on a noticeable decline, indicating that investors are actively exiting the network.
Over the past three weeks, the number of non-empty addresses on the Bitcoin blockchain has decreased by approximately 277,240, which is a significant reduction. Given that whales are fewer in number, a substantial drop in the Total Amount of Holders typically reflects a retreat of retail investors.
Yet, the departure of retail investors may not adversely affect Bitcoin, as Santiment has noted,
Historically, declines in retail confidence can bode well for mid to long-term price performance. When small traders offload their coins, larger investors like whales and sharks tend to accumulate them, leveraging their capital to boost markets during periods of heightened crowd fear.
Current BTC Price
Bitcoin has struggled to gather any significant bullish momentum lately, with its price largely moving sideways. Currently, BTC is trading at around $95,800.
The price of BTC has been on a downward trend over the past couple of weeks | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Dall-E, Santiment.net, chart from TradingView.com
