Retail investors are still studying candlestick charts, while institutional investors are already putting real money into the market and providing answers. BlackRock recently withdrew nearly $700 million worth of Bitcoin from a major exchange — this is not just a transaction, but a declaration of stance: long-term optimism and self-custody.

What does this action signify? Every time a whale withdraws coins, the exchange’s liquidity decreases. Those coins, once moved into cold wallets, are likely to stay out of the market for a long time. When top buyers choose self-custody over exchange custody, they are betting not on short-term price movements, but on Bitcoin’s long-term scarcity and absolute ownership.

Meanwhile, two signals are changing market expectations. U.S. banks have officially advised clients to allocate up to 4% of their assets to the crypto space — this indicates that the gateway for traditional finance is gradually opening. On the other hand, Federal Reserve officials have released expectations of over 100 basis points of rate cuts this year, meaning cheap liquidity is about to flood the market. Cheap money combined with impatient new entrants is reshaping the market landscape.

What can you do now? First, change your mindset — shift from trading coins to accumulating coins, and learn to think long-term like institutions. Second, review your asset distribution; holding too much on exchanges could become a risk. Third, start paying attention to on-chain data (such as exchange balance changes), as these indicators often signal market moves earlier than technical analysis.

The start of a bull market is never driven by buyers alone, but by those who buy and then hold firm. When big players begin accumulating, are you waiting on the sidelines or keeping pace with them?