Record $816M in Bitcoin leaves Binance — Are whales preparing for a rally?

Binance saw its biggest Bitcoin (BTC) outflow in history on Nov. 3, according to data from CryptoQuant. A total of 58,861 BTC were withdrawn on a single day, equivalent to $816 million.

The significant spike in outflows could suggest two things. First, it might show that whales could be bracing for a rally in the near term. Second, an over-the-counter deal could have occurred, causing whales to move their funds.

Bitcoin outflows on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant.com

On-chain activity surges highlight Bitcoin whale movements

In addition to the unprecedented increase in outflows on Binance, whales are increasingly moving their funds.

Researchers at Whalemap, an on-chain market analysis firm that tracks Bitcoin whale activity, said large volumes have been spotted. The analysts explained:

“On-chain activity is high. Large volumes of HODLer coins are moving in profit and are going straight into whale wallets.”

When whale funds move in profit to other whale wallets rather than exchanges, this often indicates that whales foresee an uptrend.

Bitcoin whale clusters. Source: Whalemap.io

Whales and high-net-worth investors generally store their funds in non-custodial wallets. These are addresses that holders have direct control over, which are usually kept offline for security purposes.

Hence, whales tend to transfer their funds into exchanges when they are preparing to sell their holdings. If outflows increase, then it means whales do not intend to sell in the near term.

In response to questions on whether the recent whale activity indicates a bullish trend, Whalemap analysts wrote:

“Let us see. The way I see it is that this bubble should be a strong level for us for some time.”

There are three possible reasons that whales might be increasingly moving their funds off exchanges.

First, the appetite to sell Bitcoin above $13,000 has become lower. On higher time frames, like the weekly and monthly charts, BTC has seen a clean breakout. Above $14,200, there is little resistance until the all-time high at $20,000.