Bitcoin Consolidates Near $68K as Whales Trim Exposure

Since October 16, Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating near $68K following an early-week pump driven by strong spot market demand. However, some holders appeared to be booking profit from the price rally, as noted by spikes in exchange inflow. The increase in exchange inflow meant more BTC was moved into centralized exchanges to be sold. This could explain the slight dip to $66K seen on Thursday.

Interestingly, the slight pullback to $66.6K was also marked by whales trimming their long positions. This was illustrated by the slight tapering of the Whale vs Retail Delta on Binance exchanges (green bars retreating). The metric tracks whale accumulation relative to retail traders. Its decline is considered reduced whale-long positions, a trend that coincides with BTC price retracements.

Put differently; the recent reading showed smart money on Binance derisked slightly, perhaps fearing that the plunge could extend beyond $66K.

However, this week’s pump reinforced the bullish ‘Uptober’ outlook after a disappointing start earlier in the month.  The risk-on and bullish sentiment was also evident amongst US spot ETF products, which have had a four-day winning streak since 11 October. On Thursday, the products logged $470.48 million net inflows.

According to QCP Capital, a Singapore-based crypto trading firm, the strong flows could push BTC towards its March all-time high.

“The strong and growing inflows may be a leading indicator of further rallies as BTC heads back to its all-time high of $73,790,” the firm wrote in its daily update.

The trading firm also noted that its trading desk saw increased buying for long-dated options, especially those expiring in March 2025.

“The desk saw heavy buying on long-dated 28 Mar options during US trading hours, with 600 contracts at 120k strike. This signifies that optimistic, long-shot buyers are returning amid this rally,” added QCP Capital.

This meant the options market traders were bullish on BTC price prospects in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. However, short-term market uncertainty remained amid earning season and ahead of the US elections.

Given BTC’s positive correlation to US stocks, the earnings season could impact asset price action, especially MicroStrategy’s earnings, set for October 30th.

That said, the liquidation heatmap showed considerable short positions were building at around $68.6K and long positions at $66.4K. Market makers typically use these liquidity clusters (bright yellow levels) to manipulate prices and tend to influence BTC price direction towards them. Hence, they could be key levels to watch in the short term.

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