- The total Spot and Futures volume of Bitcoin dropped by more than $36 Billion.
- Retail transferred BTC to larger wallets, hinting at quiet accumulation from whales.
Bitcoin [BTC] was trading at $108K as of press time, with price attempting to breach the $110K level. Despite this consistent stay above the $100K, BTC faced mixed developments concerning its future price movements.
As price stayed up, volume, a key factor in trading was drying up.
Why is BTC volume drying up?
Glassnode data reported that Bitcoin Spot and Futures volume has plummeted to $5.02B and $31.2B, respectively. This has been the lowest it has been in more than one year.
The maximum volumes were detected at the end of 2024 and Q1 of 2025, followed by a drastic decrease beginning in April.
Although the price of BTC was moving upwards, this divergence was an indication of slowing down. This could be attributed to the recent tensions in the market and fear of a reversal following the range above $100k.
However, the fading activity could be seasonal, a lack of market belief, or profit-taking. When volumes fall down and the price rises, the chances of a pullback become high.
Source: Glassnode
In the case of bulls, more durability in price gains would require a more powerful volume to corroborate the plausibility of rally continuation.
Retail exhaustion vs. whale accumulation
A sharp decline in retail investor activity resulted in wallets holding 0-10K declining by 10% in the 30-day demand, the lowest in a year. The divergence showed a declining flow in retail, as IT Tech reported on X.
Traditionally, retail is at its highest in turning points. Their absence may be a warning that neither more sales nor excess demand would happen.
In the meantime, this low retail activity suggested that capital was flowing into bigger wallets. That showed possible passive accumulation of whales.
Source: IT Tech/X
This scenario was quite like the conditions in the middle of 2023, when a similar decrease in retail demand was followed by the 10-percent correction and then a bigger breakout.
Retail frustration and whale hunger may help to decide the next serious steps of Bitcoin.
LTHs accumulate as OTC balance falls
Affirming the whale accumulation was the MVRV ratio of Bitcoin that stood at 2.26, pointing toward long-term accumulation. Historically, this has been preceded by the occurrence of huge rallies.
It was worth noting that during prior higher peaks, when the ratio exceeded 2.5, cycle tops occurred. This happened last during the end of 2021.
Source: CryptoBusy/X
The current pattern, as of press time, resembled the initial phase of a bullish movement as in early 2023. As such, there appears to be still more room to the upside.
The strength in BTC’s prices seem to be maintained as long as the MVRV stayed above the trend.
The OTC balance also fell, which suggested a potential supply squeeze as scarcity stepped in. A drastic drop in supply usually ignites rallies if accompanied by demand.
