Santiment: Retail Investors Continue to Accumulate Bitcoin But Whales Reduce Holdings or Suppress Rebound Potential

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost published a note stating that the number of short-term holders (STH) in the Bitcoin market is declining, a positive signal. Currently, the share of BTC supply held by STH has dropped significantly: 1.2% is held for less than 1 day, 2% for 1 day to 1 week, 5.6% for 1 week to 1 month, 6.7% for 1 to 3 months, and 8.1% for 3 to 6 months. Darkfost pointed out that this trend has occurred at the end of every previous bear market. On one hand, this means the proportion of long-term holders (LTH) is increasing. Compared to STH, who are active and more sensitive to market fluctuations, BTC held by LTH is less likely to be transferred. On the other hand, the decline in STH proportion also indicates that market demand has not yet returned. Every BTC purchase creates a new STH UTXO; when market demand is strong, the STH-held supply share rises rapidly, often peaking near market tops. Darkfost believes the market is approaching a "negative extreme" state, where market attention and demand remain at low levels while the number of STH continues to decrease, which is typically a positive signal.

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju stated in a post that Bitcoin OG traders have just experienced the most profitable cycle in history. Unlike previous cycles, crypto exchange traders were not the main exit liquidity this time—ETFs and digital asset reserve firms (DAT) served as the primary buyers. This structural buying pushed Binance traders’ unrealized profits to nearly three times the level seen at the 2021 cycle peak. He noted that Bitcoin’s current price range is similar to that two years ago, and the market is in a deleveraging phase. A large amount of unrealized profits accumulated in this cycle flowed into futures leverage; as traders took profits, BTC’s price is now stable near Binance traders’ average cost basis. Ki Young Ju also pointed out that on-chain market leverage (BTC/USDT futures open interest divided by USDT reserves) once exceeded 0.5, and is now around 0.3—still higher than the level before the ETF launch. If ETF inflows continue, futures leverage is expected to rise again. He further recalled that in 2023, OG whales bought heavily when BTC was near $16,000. The buyer/seller ratio shows that a large number of market long positions were built right around the cycle bottom.

Binance is set to launch six USDT-denominated perpetual contracts for traditional financial assets on August 14, with underlying assets covering Hong Kong-listed stocks, South Korean-listed equities, and South Korea’s KODEX 200 ETF. The included assets are: CICT (3308.HK), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS), Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS), LG Electronics (066570.KS), NAVER (035420.KS), and KODEX 200 ETF (069500.KS). The CICT USDT perpetual contract will go live at 10:00 AM Beijing Time on August 14, with the remaining five contracts launching at 5-minute intervals afterward. All contracts support up to 20x leverage, have funding rates settled every 8 hours, feature upper and lower limits of ±2%, and are compatible with multi-asset mode.

Chinese entrepreneur Duan Yongping announced on social media that he is willing to hold Moutai shares and any domestic fund, entering into a 10-year, 100 million RMB bet modeled after Warren Buffett’s iconic bet. Duan stated: "The premise is that we agree in advance that the charity the winner donates to is recognized by the other party. I will donate to BBK Experimental School. There are too many details to sort out. Unless a highly credible institution steps in to facilitate this. If both sides consent, we can donate the money upfront, and the loser will pay the other party after 10 years."

According to an official announcement, to mark Huobi HTX’s 13th anniversary, the platform will launch the "13th Anniversary Carnival Month – Resilience for the Future" event from 13:13 on August 13 to 13:13 on September 13 (UTC+8), inviting global users to join growth challenges. During the event, users can light up the Future Gem by completing designated tasks and unlock tiered anniversary benefits. Grand prizes include a 2,000 USDT Future Exploration Fund, a flight and accommodation package for Singapore’s TOKEN2049, and high-end limited-edition 13th anniversary gifts, among others. Additionally, Huobi HTX has launched a concurrent referral event with a million-dollar prize pool, covering trading scenarios including spot, derivatives, and margin. Users who complete designated tasks are eligible to participate in the reward split.

Lenovo's CEO stated that the company will partner with NVIDIA (NVDA.O) to launch AI PCs equipped with RTX chips later this year. (Jinshi)