Bitcoin (BTC) Continues to Increase in Popularity on Dark Web – U.Today

EconomicsprofessorJohnGriffin recently rang alarm bells over the impact of Bitcoin whales on the Bitcoin market.

Griffin told Bloombergthat a few large players could easily push the BTC price down at a whim.

"The problem with a few large players holding crypto is that when they sell they can easily push the price down, which makes the market susceptible to rapid swings."

According to data released by CoinMetrics, the number of orange coins controlled by deep-pocketed Bitcoin investors reached its highest point in four years in 2019. As of December, a whopping 42.1 percent of Bitcoin's total circulating supply is stored in wallets that hold between 1,000 and 1 mln BTC.

While crypto exchanges are known to be the owners of the richest Bitcoin addresses, investorAaron Brown warms some of the new whales on the block are family offices andaffluent individuals who are not exactly keen Bitcoin believers who might be tempted to jump ship if things turn south.

I doubt they have infinite patience, and without significant growth in actual use, I would expect them to quietly withdraw to chase other promising technologies, Brown said.

Speaking of those who don't believe in Bitcoin, Griffin probably takes the cake as one of the most prominent naysayers. Back in June 2018, together with his colleagueAmin Shams, he published a paper that explores how Tether was allegedly responsible for propelling Bitcoin to new highs during the peak of the previous bull market in December 2018.

At the beginning ofNovember, the two academicscame up with an even more shooking claim-- the historic ascent of Bitcoin to its current all-time high of $20,000 was the deed ofa single whale on Bitfinex, the affiliated exchange of Tether.

Tether dismissed the updated study as a puff piece that was meant to back up a $1.4 trln lawsuit against the flagship stablecoin issuer.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Continues to Increase in Popularity on Dark Web - U.Today