Bitcoin top signal from 2017 reappears, but here's why it may not matter this time

In 2017, the price of Bitcoin reached as high as $20,000 and crashed rapidly.

Bitcoin typically pulls back when whales take profit, causing a ripple effect throughout the cryptocurrency market.

Since the March 2020 crash, when the price of Bitcoin dropped below $3,600 on BitMEX, BTC has rallied 260%. After such a large rally, a consolidation phase or a pullback could cause a healthier rally in the medium term.

Glassnode researchers found that the last time 98% of all Bitcoin UTXOs were profitable was in December 2017.

After Bitcoin peaked at $19,798 on Dec. 16, 2017, it dropped 45% within 6 days to $10,961.

There are various fundamental and technical differences between the ongoing rally and the 2017 top.

First, the current rally of Bitcoin has been far more stable than the parabolic 2017 upsurge, which happened so suddenly th no clear resistance and support levels were established.

Following Square, MicroStrategy and Stone Ridge's high profile allocations into Bitcoin, the volume of institution-focused platforms surged.

When miners, whales and high-net-worth individuals buy and sell Bitcoin, they usually rely on the over-the-counter market.

The confluence of high volume, a stable uptrend and growing OTC volumes makes new inflows into the Bitcoin market more likely.