According to Whalemap, an on-chain analysis firm that focuses on Bitcoin (BTC) whale activity, short-term clusters are present at $10,570.

Whale clusters are shown at $10,570 and $11,288 for Bitcoin


Whale clusters are shown at $10,570 and $11,288 for Bitcoin. Source: Whalemap

Whale clusters form when whales accumulate Bitcoin and do not move the BTC. Areas that have large amounts of unspent BTC become an area of interest, typically a resistance level. Analysts at Whalemap explain:


“Bubbles
show locations where unspent bitcoins were accumulated. The larger the
bubble, the more unspent bitcoins are located there. P.s. Unspent means
these bitcoins have not been moved since they were ‘inflowed’ to a whale
wallet.”

Whales, or individuals holding large
amounts of BTC, like to sell either at breakeven or at profit, depending
on the market trend. If whales deem the current trend to be bearish,
the $10,570 level could serve as an area where whales breakeven.


The two biggest whale clusters line up with technicals 


The
two biggest whale clusters in the short term are found at $10,570 and
$11,800. Unsurprisingly, the two levels are also key resistance areas
for BTC in the immediate term.

Based on the recovery of Bitcoin above $10,000, some traders foresee BTC retesting the $11,000-$11,300 resistance range. 

According
to the cryptocurrency trader Edward Morra, Coinbase’s order book has
consistently shown decent buying demand at the $10,000 area. He said on Sept. 11:


“In
case bitcoin dips, coinbase has some fat orders below. Coinbase added
bids, from 10200 to 10000, there are ~2500 BTC in bids now.”

The
strength of the $10,000 support level could allow BTC to retest
$10,570, and potentially surpass it. For now, many traders appear to be
cautiously optimistic, at least until the mid-$10,000.

Most short-term bullish
and bearish cases also center around the $10,570 to $11,000 resistance
range. A rejection from the range raises the probability of downside in
the near future.


On-chain metrics swaying cautiously bearish


For
now, several on-chain metrics are supporting the near-term bearish case
for Bitcoin. Data from Glassnode, for example, shows BTC miner fee
deposits to exchanges have increased to levels unseen since 2017. The
researchers said:


“Currently,
almost 10% of all #Bitcoin miner fees are spent on transactions that
deposit $BTC to centralized exchanges. This is a 2x increase since the
beginning of the year, and levels we haven't seen since late 2017.”

However,
the rise in miner fees and the record-high hash rate of the Bitcoin
blockchain network indicate an overall rise in network activity. But if
miners sell the fees, then it could impose additional selling pressure
on the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin fees are being sold on exchanges


Bitcoin fees are being sold on exchanges. Source: Glassnode

Historically, many analysts have used various network activity metrics to measure the short to medium-term trend of Bitcoin. 

CNBC’s Brian Kelly, as an example, has consistently utilized the unique address activity of Bitcoin to assess the BTC price trend.