Institutions are buying Bitcoin like it’s late 2020
The amount of Bitcoin available on derivatives exchanges hits its lowest since May 11 - before the China miner rout took hold. Bitcoin (BTC) reserves on derivatives exchanges have dropped to levels last seen before the May price crash.
Data from on-chain analytics service CryptoQuant confirmed that as of Tuesday, derivatives reserves totaled 1.256 million BTC — the least since May 11.
Institutions repeat Q4 2020
Against a backdrop of institutional interest returning to cryptocurrency instruments such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), figures show that major players have in fact been adding to their BTC holdings throughout the downturn. “Big money has been buying,” analyst William Clemente III commented this week.
Exchange balances prove the point, with derivatives platforms seeing a repeat of the trend last witnessed at the end of 2020. Even during the most intense phase of the BTC bull run this year, derivatives balances conversely grew — a decreasing balance characterized only the very beginning of the run to $64,500.
“Since May 19th, entities with 10K-100K BTC have added +269,450 to their holdings ($12.1B),” Clemente III added, highlighting further data. “These entities have between $450M–$4.5B of their capital allocated to Bitcoin.”
Accumulation in action
Institutions have not been put off by any overriding narrative from within or beyond cryptocurrency, including China’s miner rout since May, or the ongoing saga over the United States’ infrastructure bill. Related: One Bitcoin now buys 0.6 kilograms of gold as 10-year returns turn negative
As Cointelegraph previously reported, retail exchange balances have already been heading lower for some time. As of Tuesday, the total exchange balance figure stood at 2.44 million BTC, also a three-month low.
Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions
| # | Crypto | Prediction | Accuracy | CVIX | Price | 24h | 7d | Market Cap | 7d price change | |
| 1 |  BTC |
Bitcoin predictions | 64.4% | 76 | $23 417.82 | -0.63% | 1.15% | $451 514 389 015 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 68% | 64 | $1 661.88 | 0.91% | 3.64% | $203 370 239 782 |  |
|
| 3 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 95.2% | 1 | $1.000131 | 0% | 0% | $68 037 505 087 |  |
|
| 4 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 78.4% | 39 | $332.92 | 1.94% | 7.73% | $52 567 670 570 |  |
|
| 5 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 96% | 1 | $0.999885 | 0% | -0.03% | $41 955 221 400 |  |
|
| 6 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 72.8% | 51 | $0.411251 | 0.08% | -0.76% | $20 891 185 117 |  |
|
| 7 |  BUSD |
Binance USD predictions | 90.8% | 1 | $1.000291 | -0.02% | 0.01% | $16 277 011 211 |  |
|
| 8 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 63.6% | 69 | $0.402084 | 0.04% | 1.59% | $13 912 162 701 |  |
|
| 9 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 77.6% | 48 | $0.094571 | 3.60% | 7.39% | $12 546 748 098 |  |
|
| 10 |  MATIC |
Polygon predictions | 66.8% | 64 | $1.24 | 3.79% | 7.12% | $10 812 206 732 |  |
|
| 11 |  STETH |
Lido stETH predictions | 93.2% | 1 | $2 941.39 | -0.40% | -3.32% | $10 258 752 564 |  |
|
| 12 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 60.8% | 88 | $24.65 | 1.35% | -0.13% | $9 182 943 497 |  |
|
| 13 |  DOT |
Polkadot predictions | 66% | 74 | $6.99 | 6.42% | 5.28% | $8 061 412 510 |  |
|
| 14 |  SHIB |
SHIBA INU predictions | 64.4% | 79 | $0.000014 | 16.05% | 20.58% | $7 810 721 768 |  |
|
| 15 |  LTC |
Litecoin predictions | 78% | 38 | $100.55 | 0.67% | 12.99% | $7 259 641 157 |  |
