According to Santiment analytical platform data, Ripple (XRP) network continues to witness an increase in the number of wallets holding balances. This trend also holds true for Ethereum (ETH), the second most popular blockchain network. However, this does not apply to Bitcoin (BTC), as the number of wallets holding balances has decreased by 27,240 compared to three weeks ago. Chris Kuiper, Crypto Research Director at Fidelity, attributes the recent decline in Bitcoin activity to the impact of related ETF funds. He believes many activities that previously required blockchain can now be done outside of it since ETFs facilitate transaction settlements. This is also the main reason for Bitcoin’s mempool remaining empty, which Fidelity sees as not necessarily bad for the network’s health. Santiment attributes the recent decline to small players exiting the market and states that historically, this is a positive sign for mid to long-term price performance. Whales usually tend to collect coins sold by small players, resulting in price increases. According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin is currently trading below $100,000 and its price is $95,941. This price decrease occurred due to the recent release of US inflation data. Additionally, this weak price performance was accompanied by a $251 million capital outflow from Bitcoin ETF funds on Thursday.
