Bitcoin Surges 3% to $87,400 as Institutional Demand and Whale Accumulation Intensify

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom, recently warned that Bitcoin (BTC) may be approaching its last opportunity to be purchased below $100,000. Hayes highlighted potential US Treasury buybacks as a significant catalyst that could drive Bitcoin’s value sharply higher. These buybacks, where the US government repurchases bonds from the open market, are intended to enhance liquidity and stabilize interest rates, which could benefit risk assets like Bitcoin by increasing the flow of fiat currency into financial markets.

Supporting Hayes' perspective, other market analysts also predicted that the growth in the fiat money supply could drive substantial gains in Bitcoin this year. Jamie Coutts, chief crypto analyst at Real Vision, suggested that expanding monetary policy could push Bitcoin to over $132,000 before the end of 2025. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties such as trade wars, the broader trend for Bitcoin remains bullish.

The weakening US dollar has also contributed to Bitcoin’s recent momentum. The US Dollar Index recently hit its lowest level since March of 2022, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs. In response, Bitcoin surged past $87,700 for the first time in nearly three weeks. This surge indicates that Bitcoin is benefiting from continued dollar weakness, which is a positive sign for its future performance.

Institutional interest in Bitcoin continues to grow, with firms in Japan and the UK reportedly investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the cryptocurrency. This growing institutional demand is led by firms like Metaplanet and Strategy, which are aggressively expanding their BTC reserves. Metaplanet, a Japanese investment firm, recently expanded its Bitcoin holdings to over $400 million after acquiring 330 BTC for $28.2 million at an average price of $85,605 per coin. This purchase brings the company’s total holdings to 4,855 BTC, currently valued at approximately $414 million. Metaplanet’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, confirmed the acquisition and mentioned that the firm’s year-to-date Bitcoin yield has now exceeded 119%.

Strategy, a US-based firm, recently announced the purchase of 3,459 BTC for $285.5 million, increasing its total to 531,644 BTC valued at over $35.9 billion. The rising institutional interest from companies like Metaplanet, Strategy, and Tether is seen by analysts as a powerful force accelerating Bitcoin’s traditional four-year market cycle. According to Enmanuel Cardozo of Brickken, this cycle may evolve faster than expected due to increased market maturity and liquidity.

Whale accumulation also intensified, with more than 60 new addresses holding 1,000+ BTC created since March. This indicates growing confidence from high-net-worth investors. The number of Bitcoin whale addresses surged in April, reaching a four-month high and levels last seen during the market rallies of November and December after the election of US President Donald Trump. While the all-time high for these whale addresses was closer to 2,500 in February of 2021, the current uptick suggests renewed interest from high-net-worth investors. In addition to the rise in 1,000+ BTC wallets, addresses holding over 100 BTC also saw modest growth by reaching 18,026 by April 20. However, there’s been a noticeable decline in the number of wallets holding less than 10 BTC. This indicates a concentration of Bitcoin among larger players. Recent data also reveals that whales are absorbing more than 300% of Bitcoin’s annual issuance, while exchange balances continue to fall. This is an indicator that long-term holders are taking their coins off trading platforms and into cold storage.

These accumulation trends come at a time when Bitcoin is showing renewed strength in the markets. On April 21, the asset surged by more than $3,000, hitting $87,400 for the first time since late March. Analysts note that Bitcoin appears to be breaking out of a sideways consolidation pattern that began in early March and is now completing a bullish breakout from a multimonth falling wedge. As trader ‘Mister Crypto’ put it, “Whales are accumulating massive amounts of Bitcoin, they know what comes next.”

Despite short-term caution stemming from ongoing global trade tensions and tariff uncertainties, the long-term outlook for Bitcoin is still highly optimistic. Joe Burnett, director of market research at Unchained, believes Bitcoin’s growing status as a superior savings technology could push its value beyond $1.8 million by 2035. This means that BTC could rival gold’s $21 trillion market cap. These trends suggest that Bitcoin is entering a new phase of adoption and appreciation, with growing confidence from both institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.