Bitcoin is on its way into an accumulation phase that will continue throughout 2019. This according to the crypto analyst Thomas Lee from the investment research firm Fundstrat.
“Bitcoin had a rough 2018 and for much of 2019, it’s been steadily climbing, and from what we can gather, it’s because there have been positive things taking place. You know a lot of the old whale wallets are buying bitcoin so it’s been slow accumulation”, says Tom Lee to CNBC.
There was a lot of dry powder left
What Tom Lee means by “whale” wallets in this context is simply digital wallets that contain large amounts of bitcoin. It’s about people who bought bitcoin in a very early stage and who sold off some of their holdings when the bitcoin price was at the highest at almost $20,000.
It is these people who now have started to buy bitcoin again, says Tom Lee.
“And then we saw positive developments like Bakkt is coming, a lot of infrastructure like Fidelity custody. Activity has been picking up, especially in regions with inflation and political issues like Venezuela and Turkey. I think finally we had a big move on April 1st. It was real evidence that there was a lot of dry powder”, says Tom Lee to CNBC.