Introduction
The number of Bitcoin wallets holding less than 1 BTC is set to grow by 9% in the coming weeks. Small investors are buying more BTC, even though its price has crossed $100,000. Crypto analyst Axel Adler, from CryptoQuant, says this shows retail buyers are more confident. In a December 14 post on X, Adler wrote, “Despite being called shrimps, these holders show strong trust in BTC. They keep buying, even at these price levels.”
Shrimp Wallets Show Growing Retail Activity
Wallets holding less than 1 BTC are called “shrimp wallets.” These wallets are a sign of small investor trust in BTC. At present, there are 323,000 shrimp wallets. Adler predicts this number will rise by 8.67% to hit 351,000 soon. The growth began when BTC traded at $61,000. At that time, there were 265,000 wallets. Since then, the number has increased by 21.9%, showing strong retail interest as BTC’s price climbed. Right now, BTC trades at $102,988.
Small Buyers Accumulate While Big Holders Sell
While small buyers continue to add to their holdings, large long-term holders, on the other hand, are selling. These wallets have held Bitcoin for at least 150 days. Moreover, reports from December 9 revealed that long-term holders sold 827,783 BTC in the past month. As a result, some experts suggest this might signal a market top, especially if demand begins to slow. However, analysts at Bitfinex expect smaller drops moving forward. In their December 9 report, they said,
“With less profit-taking and lower sell pressure, future drops will be smaller than the one seen last week.”
Vancouver Plans to Embrace Bitcoin
Vancouver is taking steps to become a Bitcoin-friendly city. Mayor Ken Sim proposed this motion, which the council approved.
The plan includes:
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Exploring the option to accept taxes and fees in BTC.
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Looking at converting part of Vancouver’s reserves into BTC.
This move reflects a growing interest in BTC from local governments.
MicroStrategy Buys More Bitcoin
Companies are also showing trust in BTC. On Monday, MicroStrategy announced a new purchase of 21,550 BTC for $2.1 billion. With this buy, MicroStrategy now owns 423,650 BTC, valued at around $42 billion. This makes it the largest public BTC holder. And with MicroStrategy now joining Nasdaq 100, This could be a very good sign.
MicroStrategy joins the Nasdaq 100 🙌
This fuels the MSTR flywheel:
•Index inclusion → more inflows
•More inflows → higher stock price
•Higher stock price → issuing more shares to buy Bitcoin
•Buying Bitcoin → Bitcoin price rises
•Rising Bitcoin → MSTR’s market cap… pic.twitter.com/AxcRRGBFZs— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) December 14, 2024
At the same time, the National Center for Public Policy Research urged Amazon to adopt BTC. The group recommends adding BTC to Amazon’s corporate treasury.
Conclusion
The number of small Bitcoin wallets is growing as retail investors keep buying. Even at record highs, trust in BTC remains strong. Meanwhile, big holders are selling, but analysts expect smaller price drops ahead. Cities like Vancouver and companies like MicroStrategy are backing BTC further. This shows BTC’s growing role in both local and corporate markets.
