Since closing at a low of $78,620 on March 10, Bitcoin (BTC) has staged a comeback and is currently trending upward gradually.

The leading cryptocurrency has recorded a 1.2% price uptick over the past week, with on-chain data signaling a fresh wave of whale accumulation.

Bitcoin Whale Demand Surges as Investors Buy the Dip

In a new report, pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Onchained found that a new wave of Bitcoin whales has emerged. These large investors hold at least 1,000 BTC wallets and have an average acquisition age under six months.

“On-chain data confirms that since November 2024, these wallets have collectively acquired over 1 million BTC, positioning themselves as one of the most influential market participants. Their accumulation pace has accelerated notably in recent weeks, accumulating more than 200,000 BTC just this month,” Onchained wrote. 

When new whales show interest in BTC like this, it signals a resurgence in bullish confidence in its long-term performance. BTC’s recent decline to multi-year lows has fueled this accumulation trend, as it presents a prime opportunity for whales looking to “buy the dip” and sell at a higher price.

Moreover, BTC holders have increased their coin holding time in the past week, highlighting the gradual comeback in bullish sentiments toward the coin. According to IntoTheBlock, this has climbed 12% over the past seven days.

The holding time of an asset’s transacted coins measures the average length of time its tokens are held before being sold or transferred. When this extends, it reflects stronger investor conviction, as investors choose to keep their coins rather than sell. 

This can help reduce the selling pressure as supply dries up gradually in the BTC market, driving up the coin’s value in the near term. 

Bitcoin at a Crossroads: Rebound to $89,000 or Drop to $77,000 Next?

Although BTC’s Elder-Ray Index continues to post red histogram bars, their sizes have gradually reduced over the past few days. 

This indicator compares buying pressure with selloffs to determine an asset’s price trends. When its bars decrease in height, it indicates that bearish pressure is weakening. 

This suggests that BTC sellers are losing momentum, and buyers may be gradually stepping in. If this trend continues, it could slow down BTC’s downtrend. Its price could rebound and climb toward $89,434.

On the other hand, if selling pressure strengthens, the king coin risks plummeting to $77,114.

PancakeSwap’s CAKE token is the market’s top performer today, surging 21% in the past 24 hours.  At press time, the altcoin trades at $2.56.

This rally comes as CAKE records its highest daily spot inflow in a month amid strong demand and renewed investor interest in the token.

CAKE Rockets Higher with $3.37 Million Inflows—Is More Upside Ahead?

CAKE’s price rally is primarily driven by the sharp increase in trading activity on the PancakeSwap decentralized exchange (DEX). Over the past few days, the platform has seen a significant uptick in daily trading volume, outperforming Ethereum’s Uniswap and Solana’s Raydium.

The trend has triggered a surge in demand for the DEX’s native token, CAKE, causing its value to soar by double digits. The uptick in buying pressure is reflected by the token’s spot inflows, currently at $3.37 million, its single-day highest figure in the past month.

When an asset records spot inflows, the number of tokens purchased and moved into spot markets has increased, indicating rising demand. CAKE’s high spot inflows suggest that investors are actively accumulating the asset. If this buying pressure continues, it can drive further price appreciation. 

This is a bullish signal, especially as it is accompanied by positive market sentiment, as shown by the token’s funding rate, which is 0.0021% as of this writing. 

The funding rate is a periodic fee exchanged between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts to keep the contract price aligned with the spot market. A positive funding rate means long traders are paying short traders, indicating strong demand and bullish market sentiment for CAKE.

With rising inflows and growing demand, CAKE’s price performance suggests that traders are positioning for further upside. If demand continues at this pace, the token could extend its gains, drawing even more liquidity into PancakeSwap’s ecosystem.

CAKE Holds Strong Above 20-Day EMA—Bullish Momentum Builds

CAKE’s rally has pushed it significantly above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) which now forms dynamic support below its price at $1.93.

This moving average measures an asset’s average price over the past 20 trading days. It gives more weight to recent price data, making it more responsive to price movements than a simple moving average. 

When an asset’s price climbs above the 20-day EMA, it signals bullish momentum, suggesting that buyers are in control and the asset may continue its upward trend.

If this trend persists, CAKE could extend its uptrend to $2.90.

On the other hand, a resurgence in profit-taking activity could prevent this from happening. If CAKE demand stalls and it sheds its recent gains, its value could plunge to $2.41. If that support level fails to hold, the token’s price could drop to $2.01.

Decentralized perpetual exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid (HYPE) has reached a significant milestone, surpassing $1 trillion in total perpetual contract (perps) trading volume.

This achievement comes despite a broader market downturn, where major sectors have posted losses. While there has been slight growth today, it remains minimal, highlighting the market’s challenges.

Hyperliquid Dominates Perps Market 

According to data from DeFiLlama, Hyperliquid perps’ cumulative trading volume has surged to $1.1 trillion. This rise in activity highlights its growing appeal among traders.

Furthermore, as reported by Dune Analytics, weekly volumes have ranged between $40 billion and $50 billion. In fact, the platform now commands over 60% of the market share among perps platforms, solidifying its position as a powerhouse in decentralized finance (DeFi).

Besides its market dominance, Hyperliquid has made headlines for being central to a major development. As BeInCrypto reported, the platform gained widespread attention after a whale trader opened a 40x leverage BTC short position worth $423 million, triggering a “whale hunt.”

Nonetheless, the developments have not done much for the platform’s native token, HYPE. Instead, it has been underperforming, maintaining a consistent downtrend.

Over the past day, it has depreciated by 3.4%. At press time, it traded at $12.9, marking lows not seen since December 2024. Moreover, the platform has faced increased scrutiny following concerns about potential money laundering.

Analyst Forecasts: Will HYPE Reach $100?

Despite these struggles, an analyst predicted that HYPE could reach $50-$100, citing its status as the leading crypto DEX and its high-throughput Layer 1 blockchain.

In the latest X (formerly Twitter), he highlighted Hyperliquid’s impressive growth. The platform averages $6.7 billion in daily volume, a significant increase from $1.1 billion in October. This surge has increased its market share relative to Binance, jumping from 2% to 9% in just six months.

“If Hyperliquid can maintain just a fraction of its growth rate, we could see it reach ~20% of Binance’s volumes by the end of the year,” the post read.

According to the analyst, this expansion could significantly boost the HYPE token’s valuation.

“If Hyperliquid is able to reach 20% of Binance’s volume, I think we could easily see $40-50 HYPE with the uptick in earnings and a slight multiple expansion,” he said.

He also highlighted several factors that could fuel Hyperliquid’s continued success. The recent addition of native spot Bitcoin (BTC) trading, coin margin functionality, and the possibility of launching a delta-neutral stablecoin are seen as major catalysts for future growth. 

Another key development is the evolution of Hyperliquid’s Layer 1 blockchain ecosystem. The platform has attracted over 50 projects and holds over $2.3 billion in USDC and BTC deposits.

The analyst added that Hyperliquid has a strong potential to establish itself as the third most used blockchain, following Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), within the next few years. 

“Given ETH and SOL are worth $230 billion and $75 billion, respectively what does that make Hyperliquid’s potential L1 valuation? Even at 15-25% of ETH or SOL, that adds another $10-50 to the token price. $50 for the perps/spot/stablecoin product + another $50 for the L1 and $100 HYPE seems possible,” he predicted.