- Abraxas Capital buys $250M in BTC, signalling institutional confidence.
- Whales accumulate while mid-term holders release 170K BTC.
- Analysts expect short-term consolidation and long-term growth.
The London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital has received much attention after spending nearly $250 million on a large Bitcoin acquisition in the four days before Easter. The firm’s purchase of 2,949 BTC has been widely interpreted as a signal that institutions have returned with their confidence in the cryptocurrency as trade tensions rise globally and the weekend approaches.
In a new note published by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, which referenced Arkham Intelligence data, Abraxas Capital’s most recent activity included a large $45 million (in Bitcoin) from the cash desk at Binance on April 18. The busier transaction has also added to speculation that the current market is seeing some institutional buying trends.
Such a move comes only days after MicroStrategy announced that it had spent $285 million on Bitcoin, paying an average of $82,618 per coin. Michael Saylor’s firm’s transaction adds to the increasingly bullish outlook of prominent corporate players in the crypto space.
Institutional Investors Accelerate Bitcoin Accumulation Strategy
Current applications involving the Bitcoin derivatives markets highlight acceleration in institutional investors and crypto whales, who appear to be increasing their acquisition of BTC at a scale. Recent data indicates that these major holders are buying over three times as much new BTC as is produced in a year.
Though the accumulation continues at the institutional level, market analysts are looking at the medium-term holders who normally have the Bitcoin for longer than three months. Recently, these holders have put back into circulation over 170,000 BTC, and with that literally just there, it could affect short-term market dynamics.
However, there are still concerns about the market’s stability. The crypto sector has had notable volatility in the past two weekends. On the 13th of April, Mantra (OM) suffered a sudden price collapse of more than 90% in a single day, which generated alarm bells regarding the possibility of market manipulation. BTC held above $75,000 as a recent sell-off in the S&P 500, which reached a record of $5 trillion last week, began spooking investors.
Thielen Expects Bitcoin to Enter Consolidation Phase
In light of such developments, 10x Research’s head of research, Markus Thielen, posted that he felt Bitcoin was about to embark on a prolonged period of consolidation. In a recent market note, Thielen noted that while broad sentiment continues to be bullish about new all-time highs sometime this midyear, short-term technicals are leaning a bit more towards caution.
Thielen pointed to the Bitcoin stochastic oscillator, a technical instrument used to measure how fast a market is moving away from or towards a peak, as an indicator that the market is now more consistent with the last cycle peak than the start of a new one.
Meanwhile, Lyn Alden, a macroeconomist, analysed Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. According to Alden, however, the crypto is still on course to reach its current value of around $85,000 by the end of 2025. However, she admitted that recent tariff measures introduced in February dampened the more aggressive price forecasts she had previously had.
Less than a week ago, Alden would have had a higher price target than this, ‘before all this tariff kerfuffle,’ as he puts it. She added that a significant liquidity event, like a crisis in the U.S bond market, could lead to the Federal Reserve reintroducing measures from quantitative easing or yield curve control and boost BTC.
Looking at the prevailing macroeconomic headwinds, Alden still believes in BTC; he thinks there is a strong probability that it will cross the $100,000 threshold in the next year. But she warned that the biggest risk to global market volatility remains, given the unique nature of crypto trading.
It’s different because if people are worried about how things are going to open on Monday, then some pools of capital can sell their Bitcoin on a Sunday and then prepare. You have a 24/7 trading basis, and if people are worried about the dawning of the week, it’s very sensitive to the mood of the wider world.
