Bitcoin’s Best Month This Year as Whale Adds 34,164 BTC

Bitcoin rose 11.87% in April to roughly $76,960, marking its strongest month so far this year and reversing part of a five-month streak of net losses. The token gained about 12.94% in the second quarter to date, with prices reaching near $76,960 in early May.

Large spot purchases were recorded in April. A corporate treasury or institutional buyer completed one of its largest weekly purchases, adding 34,164 BTC as of April 20, according to on-chain tallies. That accumulation occurred alongside other whale and retail buying and coincided with a narrowing of market breadth as interest in altcoins remained low. Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market rose to about 58.2% during the recovery period.

Options activity was concentrated around key strikes. On May 1, $1.74 billion in Bitcoin options expired, with an additional $394 million in Ether options expiring the same day. The Bitcoin weekly expiry showed a put/call ratio near 1.1 and the market traded close to an estimated maximum pain level of approximately $76,000 ahead of the expiry.

Open interest showed clustered positions. Put open interest shifted toward the $75,500 strike, while the largest build-up of call open interest was between $79,500 and $80,000 per BTC. The concentration of call positions in that range aligns with a price area where many option holders stand to benefit if spot prices rise above those strikes.

The weekly options expiry sitting near maximum pain may create short-term volatility if dealers and option sellers hedge quickly, a dynamic that can accelerate price moves in either direction around expiry events.

April also included a string of sector-specific shocks. The month saw multiple hacks and exploits, and uncertainty affecting oil routes in the Strait of Hormuz coincided with heightened risk-off flows in some markets. During parts of April, institutional and retail traders shifted attention toward equities and oil futures, while spot and futures activity in Bitcoin was dominated by larger holders.

Investor sentiment measures remained cautious. The crypto fear and greed index registered around 26 points in late April, up from an extreme fear reading the previous month but still indicating low confidence for large directional longs. Historically, April has been more often positive for Bitcoin, while May has shown greater variability on a multi-year basis.

Market participants will continue to monitor large-holder accumulation and concentrated options positions for signs of further directional activity or renewed consolidation.