In March, Bitcoin’s on-chain flow was heavily dominated by large value bands, with transactions sized at 10 BTC or more typically making up 85% to 90% of the total daily volume.
This skew indicates that large holders and institutional entities were the primary contributors to the on-chain movement. In contrast, smaller transactions under 1 BTC or even 10 BTC remained a negligible part of daily volume, usually in the 10–15% range combined.
This has become a common pattern for the Bitcoin network as the asset matures, with most of its daily volume generated by large players rather than small retail transfers.
The two most influential bands were consistently the 10 BTC to 100 BTC and 100 BTC to 1,000 BTC categories, each tending to account for a significant fraction of the daily volume. On many days, they contributed 60% to 75% of the total spent BTC combined.
This highlights that mid to large-scale trades, such as sizable exchange withdrawals or institutional rebalancing, drove much of the on-chain activity. Retail-scaled moves (under 1 BTC, or even under 10 BTC) barely registered in comparison and seldom crossed 15% of daily spent volume.
While large transaction bands were consistently in the lead, there were periods when even bigger whale categories (1,000 BTC to 10,000 BTC or over 10,000 BTC) momentarily spiked. These surges typically happened in just a few days, but they were enough to significantly reshuffle the distribution of volume.
For example, when the 1,000 BTC to 10,000 BTC band soared, it often signaled a cluster of large transfers that dwarfed the mid-sized 100 BTC to 1,000 BTC transactions. These episodes suggest that one or more major holders or exchanges moved thousands of Bitcoin, prompting a short-lived spike in this category.
On the other hand, the >10,000 BTC band was usually modest but became more influential near the middle of March. It jumped from around 5% to 7% early in the month to over 10% in some instances, indicating that massive transfers were occasionally triggered. Although these mega outputs did not dominate the entire month, they briefly took center stage whenever a handful of outsized transactions occurred.
The contrast between small and large transactions shows that Bitcoin’s on-chain volume has become a settlement layer for high-value transfers, while smaller transactions often occur off-chain (for instance, on exchange order books or via payment solutions that bundle transactions). Hence, even if many smaller users move BTC, their combined share of spent volume is overshadowed by a relatively small number of large transactions.
Large Bitcoin transactions are typically driven by institutional entities, major market participants, or custodians managing significant reserves. Crypto exchanges are among the most common contributors, often moving thousands of BTC in a single transaction to rebalance wallets or consolidate funds for security purposes.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are another likely source of high-volume BTC movements. As these ETFs accumulate physical BTC to back their shares, custodians frequently purchase and consolidate large amounts of Bitcoin, which can result in substantial on-chain transfers. Similarly, when investors redeem ETF shares, custodians may release BTC back into the market, creating significant outflows. These large transactions often appear in the highest spent output value bands and align with periods of increased institutional demand or ETF inflows.
For instance, the entire category below 1 BTC sometimes registered under 3% of total daily volume, while the 1 BTC to 10 BTC band typically hovered around the 8% to 12% range. Although smaller transfers might be numerous, they remain minimal in terms of raw BTC transferred. Rising fees and the preference for off-chain scaling methods further discourage many tiny on-chain payments, amplifying the dominance of the larger bands.
Within March, two notable bursts of whale activity restructured the spent output distribution for brief intervals:
- Early-to-Mid March: From March 8 to March 9, the 1,000 BTC to 10,000 BTC band suddenly surged, consuming well over 20% of daily volume on March 9 — far above its usual level. This likely signaled a few exceptionally large holders moving funds in thousand-BTC chunks. Meanwhile, the more common 100 BTC to 1,000 BTC band dipped during those days, suggesting that massive whale transactions overshadowed the typical mid-sized transfers.
- Mid-March Spike: From March 15 to March 16, the very largest band (>10,000 BTC) saw several spikes, causing it to surpass 10% of daily volume at times. Simultaneously, the 1,000 BTC to 10,000 BTC outputs were also elevated. This top-heavy pattern implies a cluster of giant transfers — possibly exchanges moving holdings or whales redistributing coins. Smaller bands showed a slight uptick, too, which may have been mid-tier holders or retail participants taking advantage of market conditions, but collectively, they remained much smaller than the major bands.
Following each spike, the breakdown reverted toward a stable pattern in which the 10 BTC to 100 BTC and 100 BTC to 1,000 BTC bands dominated. By late March, these bands still held the largest share, but the >10,000 BTC category maintained a somewhat higher contribution than it had at the month’s start. Ultimately, large transactions in various size brackets were the primary defining factor in determining daily proportions.
The post Bitcoin’s on-chain flow is dominated by large value outputs appeared first on CryptoSlate.
