Whales Grab 270K BTC! Largest Bitcoin Bull Run Since 2013-What It Means

Whale Wallets Add 270K <a href="https://bbg-news.com/btc-usd/">BTC</a> in 30 Days, Biggest <a href="https://pricpr.com/btc-usd/">Bitcoin</a> Buy Since 2013: Bitfinex

Large Bitcoin holders—often called ‘whales’—bought up 270,000 Bitcoin in the last month. Bitfinex exchange notes this is a record amount of accumulation, combined with low Bitcoin reserves on exchanges, suggesting strong and consistent demand.

Bitcoin whale wallets made a massive move in April. 

Data from Bitfinex Alpha shows that large Bitcoin wallets—those holding over 1,000 BTC—have added 270,000 BTC over the past month. This is the biggest monthly increase in Bitcoin holdings by these wallets since 2013.

Bitcoin reserves held by exchanges have fallen to their lowest level in seven years, reaching 2.41 million BTC. At the same time, Bitcoin’s price surged past $78,000, indicating strong positive market movement.

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Bitcoin Whale Accumulation Hits a 12-Year High

It’s difficult to overlook the recent activity: large Bitcoin holders—those with over 1,000 BTC—have been buying up a significant amount of the available supply, more than usual.

Bitfinex reports that its reserves are now at a very low 5.88% of the total Bitcoin in circulation. This represents the most limited supply the market has experienced in several years.

Bitfinex’s report frames this as a structural bid, not speculation. 

After roughly five months of about $39 billion in whale activity, prices had already fallen to levels suggesting they were undervalued. Now that excessive borrowing has been reduced and the initial wave of selling is over, buying interest is starting to outpace the limited number of assets available.

Bitcoin also crossed the midpoint of its current halving cycle this week. 

The network has processed half of the approximately 210,000 blocks that will occur between the April 2024 halving event and the next one, predicted for 2028. As a result of these halvings, the reward for mining each block will decrease from 3.125 to 1.5625 Bitcoin.

Large Bitcoin holders – those with over 1,000 BTC in their wallets – have added 270,000 BTC to their holdings in the past month. This is the biggest increase since 2013.

Exchange reserves sit at a seven-year low.

Bitfinex Alpha looks at what that structural bid means against the Hormuz backdrop.

— Bitfinex (@bitfinex)

Dollar Recycling and ETF Inflows Drive Structural Demand

Bitfinex points to a dollar-recycling thesis, not a rate-cut trade. 

As of April 16th, the total value of stablecoins reached $320 billion, with $2.54 billion flowing in over the previous week. This growth has continued consistently throughout the second quarter of the year. Additionally, investments into crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have turned positive for the year, totaling $2.3 billion.

The BlackRock IBIT fund took in a remarkable $871 million just last week, bringing its total assets to almost $64 billion.

Bitfinex believes this shows money moving away from dollars and into cryptocurrencies, suggesting a long-term change rather than a temporary reaction to monetary policy.

The economy added 178,000 jobs in March, much higher than the expected 60,000. This stronger-than-expected job growth makes it less likely that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates soon.

Because the Federal Reserve isn’t in a position to easily raise or lower interest rates, the dollar is starting to weaken, which is consistently increasing demand for Bitcoin.

Geopolitical Tension and DeFi Stress Test Bitcoin’s Resilience

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz on April 18 rattled traditional markets. 

Bitcoin reacted in a unique way to recent market challenges. Since the crisis started, the total value of digital asset exchange-traded products (ETPs) increased by 9.4 percent, reaching $140 billion. During the same time, Bitcoin’s value went up by 7.1 percent, while stocks fell by 6.5 percent and gold decreased by 10.1 percent.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) world also experienced difficulties. On April 20th, a security issue with KelpDAO led to a loss of $292 million.

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Kelp DAO’s rsETH Bridge Hit by $292M Exploit in Suspected LayerZero Attack

April saw over $606 million lost in decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks and exploits, including a $285 million incident involving the Drift protocol. As a result, the total value locked in DeFi platforms fell by about $14 billion in just two days.

Bitfinex reports that, so far, the negative effects seem limited to the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The price difference between stETH and ETH hasn’t dramatically changed, and the creation of new USDt tokens is still increasing.

Demand for Bitcoin has remained steady, and there’s no sign that people are moving their money out of decentralized finance (DeFi) and converting it to traditional currency. According to Bitfinex, a key warning sign would be a significant drop in the value of stETH compared to ETH (more than 1%) or a surge in people redeeming their Tether (USDt). Neither of these things has happened, suggesting the market remains stable.

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2026-04-22 21:33