Bitcoin sees 2024’s largest weekly outflow from exchanges – What does it mean?

Bitcoin (BTC) retraced below the $100,000 psychological level, bringing uncertainty for some and a buying opportunity for others. As a display of the latter, exchanges registered over $2 billion in BTC outflow from their accounts in a week – the largest Bitcoin outflow this year.

Finbold retrieved data from CoinGlass on December 24, looking at the exchange’s spot markets over the last seven weeks. From December 15 to today, exchanges saw a $2.12 billion outflow in BTC, which is currently trading at $95,177.

This marks the largest weekly spot outflow year-to-date in dollar value, according to CoinGlass, surpassing May’s $2.03 billion. Notably, the previously largest 2024 outflow triggered a Bitcoin price crash from $58,240 down to $31,778.

Historically, significant spot outflows happen during bull rallies, fueled by massive retail demand, buying and withdrawing the BTC to self-custody. However, this increased demand by retail investors could usually signal a price top for Bitcoin and other assets, requiring caution.

Nearly $1 billion of Bitcoin left Binance alone in a week

In this context, Binance is by far the exchange with the largest individual outflow among its competitors.

Nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin left the leading crypto exchange in the last seven days, followed distantly by Bitfinex. The second-largest weekly outflow was slightly above $500 million from Tether’s parent company.

Interestingly, the third largest flow was a green one, with Coinbase registering $422 million in Bitcoin deposits inflow. Other exchanges like Bybit, OKX, Kraken, and Bitstamp also registered BTC outflows between $79 million and $260 million.

Usually, Bitcoin net inflows mean most investors are depositing BTC with the intention of selling. Meanwhile, net outflows would suggest the opposite, with bullish investors withdrawing what they have already bought.

It is notable that, given its nature, inflows can usually precede huge price drops, as investors need to deposit before they can sell, being a proactive measurement. On the other hand, investors can only withdraw what they have already bought, so the outflows are a reactive metric and do not necessarily mean the price will increase after a large Bitcoin net outflow.

As seen in the historical chart, outflows are a useful sentiment indicator that sometimes signals an upcoming reversal.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Source